tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135798372017-08-17T23:57:00.870-04:00SoxProspects NewsThe News Page of SoxProspects.com, the authoritative site for coverage of the Boston Red Sox minor league system.Steve Guglielmonoreply@blogger.comBlogger5795125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-18843528319327763102017-08-17T12:00:00.000-04:002017-08-17T12:00:05.859-04:00Minor Notes: Scouting updates and strong performances<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/duron-nick.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-29-2017/i-VR225dz/0/f29d5501/X2/20170729_8821-X2.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are Thursday's minor league notes:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">After covering a few of the bigger names on the Lowell roster earlier in the week,&nbsp;<i>SoxProspects.com's</i> Director of Scouting Ian Cundall wrote up a few of the <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-nick-duron-denyi-reyes.html" target="_blank">under-the-radar arms</a> on the Spinners roster. <b>Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes</b> and <b>Yorvin Pantoja </b>were featured in the latest Scouting Scratch, with Duron's report being the most intriguing.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Cundall and Executive Editor Chris Hatfield teamed up for the <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/podcast-ep-128-i-read-spark-notes-and.html" target="_blank">128th episode of the <i>SoxProspects.com </i>Podcast</a>, and they covered all of the recent promotions in the system. They also talked about their live looks at Pawtucket, Portland, and Lowell, and discussed <b>Blake Swihart</b>'s return to the field.&nbsp;<a name='more'></a></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">With rosters set to expand in September, Red Sox manager <b>John Farrell</b> said this week that Swihart is a "strong candidate" to be the third catcher in Boston. Swihart is set to catch three days a week in Pawtucket as he continues to fight through discomfort in his ankle.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">After going on a tear this week, <b>Rafael Devers </b>has been one of the biggest names in baseball. After hitting a 102.8 mph fastball for a home run on Sunday, hitting two more home runs on Monday, and then starting a triple play on Tuesday, he has already become a key piece in a pennant race. Kevin Thomas of the <i>Portland Press Herald </i><a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2017/08/15/on-baseball-for-those-in-the-know-devers-success-was-inevitable/" target="_blank">talked to Devers' manager and several former teammates</a> with the Sea Dogs, and none of them were surprised by the success he has had.&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><b>Jay Groome</b>, the top rated pitcher in the system, will be turning 19 next week. Groome has allowed only two runs and struck out 21 over his last 16 innings as he has started to turn his season around. In an interview with the <i>Greenville News</i>, Groome <a href="http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/baseball/greenville-drive/2017/08/16/drives-groome-finally-finding-his-form/558987001/" target="_blank">discusses coming back from the injury</a> that sidelined him for almost three months, and also what advice he is taking from his coaches.&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">The Sea Dogs have one of the hottest hitters in the minors, as <b>Jeremy Barfield </b>has hit .358/.448/.750 over his last 40 games. Thomas <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2017/08/17/on-baseball-barfield-rebuilding-his-resume/" target="_blank">looked at Barfield's power surge</a> in a recent article for the&nbsp;<i>Portland Press Herald</i>, with players like&nbsp;<b>Giancarlo Stanton</b>, <b>Cody Bellinger</b> and <b>Mike Moustakas </b>being the only players in professional baseball putting up similar numbers.</li></ul></div><div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">There were limited roster moves this week, and almost all of them involved the PawSox.&nbsp;<b>Edgar Olmos&nbsp;</b>was added back to the roster from a paper move,&nbsp;<b>Shawn Haviland</b>&nbsp;was activated from the temporary inactive list, and&nbsp;<b>Steve Selsky&nbsp;</b>was placed on the disabled list with a concussion.&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">The Red Sox signed undrafted free agent&nbsp;<b>Brendan Nail </b>out of Western Carolina University and assigned him to Lowell. Nail is a left-handed pitcher who went 6-8 with a 6.67 ERA over 87 2/3 innings as a junior this season. He played on a temporary contract this summer for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, striking out 32 over 26 innings with an ERA of 1.03.&nbsp;</li></ul></div><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><b>Kelvin Sanchez</b>, a 20-year-old who was signed on July 2 this year, was added to the DSL roster.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><i>Photo Credit: Nick Duron by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/M728A7RLc2A" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jim Crowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07242721829102248162noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/minor-notes-scouting-updates-and-strong.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-74347691851827780452017-08-17T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-17T07:00:08.977-04:00Cup of Coffee: Castillo powers the PawSox, Shawaryn strikes out seven<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/castillo-rusney.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Pawtucket-Red-Sox/PawSox-June-11-2017/i-Z8CrwQG/0/fbd79fc0/XL/20170611_2723-XL.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>8/17 Cup of Coffee: </i>Home runs from <b>Rusney Castillo </b><i>(pictured)</i><b>&nbsp;</b>and&nbsp;<b>Bryce Brentz </b>coupled with strong outings from&nbsp;<b>Dedgar Jimenez,&nbsp;</b><b>Mike Shawaryn, </b>and&nbsp;<b>Darwinzon Hernandez </b>resulted in a good night down on the farm. It was not all good news however, as <b>Brian Johnson </b>left the game after being struck in the leg by a batted ball, and <b>Bobby Dalbec</b>'s struggles continued in Greenville.<br /><i><br /></i>-----<br /><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_pawaaa_louaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_pawaaa_louaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Pawtucket Red Sox 11, Louisville Bats (CIN) 5</a></b><br />A 17-hit attack that included three home runs paced the PawSox. <b>Rusney Castillo </b>was the star of the day, going 4 for 5 with two doubles and his 15th home run of the season. <b>Bryce Brentz </b>launched a two-run home run, his 28th of the year, as part of his 2-for-5 night. Brentz is now one home run away from the International League lead.&nbsp;<b>Matt Dominguez</b> also joined the party, going 3 for 5 with a solo home run.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />In what has become too common of an occurrence for <b>Brian Johnson</b>, his night was cut short after being hit by a comebacker. The ball hit him in the leg and he was able to record the last out of the first inning, but he did not return for the second inning.&nbsp;<b>Edgar Olmos</b> was great in relief, striking out six and allowing one run over four innings.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i>-----<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_altaax_prtaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Portland Sea Dogs 6, Altoona Curve (PIT) 1</a></b><br />Another strong start from&nbsp;<b>Dedgar Jimenez</b> helped lead the Sea Dogs to victory. Jimenez improved to 4-0 with the Sea Dogs after he fired 6 2/3 innings of one run ball. He struck out only one but he did not walk a batter and allowed seven hits. <i>SoxProspects.com </i>Director of Scouting Ian Cundall was in attendance, and he tweeted that Jimenez <a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall/status/897963683640422400" target="_blank">topped out at 92</a> with his fastball while also mixing in a curveball, slider and changeup. Cundall also got to see <b>Ty Buttrey</b>, who struck out one over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Buttrey <a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall/status/897977209130029056" target="_blank">topped out at 98</a> while mixing in an average slider. <b>Bobby Poyner </b>threw another scoreless inning, dropping his ERA to 0.28.<br /><br />The offense was again led by&nbsp;<b>Jeremy Barfield</b>, who went 2 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI. Barfield has been on fire over the last six weeks, raising his OPS over 200 points during that stretch.&nbsp;<b>Michael Chavis</b> went 1 for 4 with a double,&nbsp;<b>Henry Urrutia</b> went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk, and&nbsp;<b>Josh Ockimey</b> went 2 for 4 and drove in two runs.<br /><br />-----<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_salafa_potafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Salem Red Sox 8, Potomac Nationals (WAS) 4 (10 innings)</a></b><br />Two home runs from <b>Jose Sermo </b>and a solid outing from&nbsp;<b>Mike Shawaryn </b>pushed Salem past Potomac.&nbsp;Shawaryn went the first five innings, striking out seven and allowing two runs. It was a nice rebound for the former fifth-round pick who had allowed 12 runs over his last 10 2/3 innings. Sermo drove in all four of Salem's runs and also walked and singled. The big hit was a three-run home run in the top of the eighth when Salem was down 2-1.<br /><br />-----<br /><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 5, Greenville Drive 2</a></b><br />The RiverDogs got to&nbsp;<b>Hunter Smith</b> for five runs in the bottom of the eighth to stun the Drive.&nbsp;<b>Darwinzon Hernandez </b>tossed five shutout innings, allowing only one hit while striking out five and walking three. This was the sixth start of the year where Hernandez did not allow a run, and the left-hander lowered his ERA to 3.67.&nbsp;<b>Jerry Downs</b> went 2 for 4 to lead the offense, while <b>Bobby Dalbec </b>went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, and he has now struck out in 47 percent of his at-bats since returning from the disabled list.<br /><br />-----<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_lowasx_verasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Vermont Lake Monsters (OAK) 7, Lowell Spinners 4</a></b><br />Vermont's offense was too much to overcome as Lowell's three-game winning streak came to an end.&nbsp;<b>Enmanuel De Jesus</b> and&nbsp;<b>Devon Fisher</b> each allowed three earned runs, while&nbsp;<b>Durin O'Linger</b> held the Lake Monsters scoreless over his 1 1/3 innings.&nbsp;<b>Zach Sterry</b> accounted for three of Lowell's nine hits, and&nbsp;<b>Frankie Rios</b> went 2 for 4 with a walk.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_rsxrok_orirok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Orioles (BAL) 6, GCL Red Sox 5</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite an impressive effort from the heart of the order. the Red Sox fell to the Orioles.&nbsp;Pedro Castellanos led the way, going 2 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI. Castellanos is currently leading the Gulf Coast League in hitting, batting .376, and he has struck out only 10 times in 141 at bats.&nbsp;<b>Everlouis Lozada</b> went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and&nbsp;<b>Kervin Suarez</b> went 2 for 4 with a walk and scored two runs. The struggles continued for&nbsp;<b>Oddanier Mosqueda</b> who went 4 2/3 innings and allowed four runs while walking four, and his ERA is now 10.34 over his last five starts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_ddorok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_16_ddorok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 4, DSL Dodgers1 (LAD) 3&nbsp;(12 innings)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A pair of strong pitching performances helped the Red Sox outlast the Dodgers.&nbsp;<b>Rafael Gomez</b>&nbsp; got the start and allowed one run on three hits over five innings, and the 19-year-old has allowed only two runs over his last 22 innings.&nbsp;Luis Rivero took sole possession of the most wins in the Dominican Summer League on Wednesday as he improved to 9-1 with four innings of shutout ball. He allowed one hit and walked one while striking out four.&nbsp;<b>Keibert Petit</b> went 1 for 3 with two walks, and&nbsp;<b>Marcos Martinez</b> won the game in the bottom of the 12th with a sacrifice fly.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Night: <a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/castillo-rusney.htm" target="_blank">Rusney Castillo</a> </b>had a season-high four hits, including two doubles and a home run, in Pawtucket's win on Wednesday. This has been the best season Castillo has had since signing with Boston back in 2014, as the outfielder is now batting .315 with 37 extra-base hits in only 86 games with the PawSox. He has also stolen 14 bases while playing solid defense in center field. The combination of a strong outfield in Boston and a large contract will likely keep Castillo off the 40-man roster this year, but the 30-year-old has done a lot to help his stock in 2017.<br /><br /><i>Photo Credit: Rusney Castillo by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /><i><br /></i></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/v2YonqxtMxw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jim Crowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07242721829102248162noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-castillo-powers-pawsox.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-4375164161275085832017-08-16T08:00:00.000-04:002017-08-16T08:00:26.205-04:00Scouting Scratch: Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes and Yorvin Pantoja<div class="p1"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/duron-nick.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-June-18-2017/i-xxX8WCj/0/473ece06/L/20170618_0704-L.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>LOWELL, Mass.</i> -- Based on his statistics this season, Spinners’ right-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/duron-nick.htm" target="_blank">Nick Duron</a></b> may not seem like someone to watch, but that is far from the case. In 36 2/3 innings, the 21-year-old has 4.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with only 25 strikeouts compared to 13 walks. Duron’s development has been slow since he was drafted in the 31st round of the 2015 draft out of Clark College, a junior college in Vancouver, Washington. He had committed to<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>and signed for only $75,000. He threw 26 1/3 innings with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox after signing, striking out 28 batters while allowing just 5 runs on 20 hits and 5 walks, but then missed all of 2016 with an injury.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The first thing that stands out with Duron is his athleticism and frame. Duron’s only other scholarship offer out of high school was to <a href="http://portlandtribune.com/ttt/92-sports/265700-138749-nick-duron-is-now-following-a-different-dream" target="_blank">play football at Western Oregon University</a>, and he looks the part. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and is very muscular, but he hasn’t lost any of his football athleticism and has a very live arm.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Duron throws from a three-quarters arm slot and starts with a wide base. His delivery is controlled with some effort including a stab behind and short, quick arm action forward. Duron’s arm is very quick, so much so that it often gets out of sync with the rest of his delivery. He has a tendency to miss to his glove side when his arm gets out ahead of his body, and he struggles to locate on the inner half of the plate to right-handed hitters. Given he only committed full time to baseball in 2015 this isn’t a surprise, but as a result his command and control suffer.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Duron’s fastball sat 92-94 mph in the two outings scouted, topping out at 96 mph in one outing and 95 mph in the other. In the first outing, he showed a tick more velocity in the first inning, sitting 93-95 mph, but he held his velocity deeper into the second game, still sitting 92-94 mph in his fifth inning of work. Duron’s fastball is straight and lacks life. It doesn’t miss bats like you’d expect given the velocity, and he lacks feel for command, leading to a fair amount of contact.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Duron’s secondary offerings include a slider and changeup. Both have shown potential, but are inconsistent. His slider worked at 83-88 mph over the two outings. At its best, the pitch is a power breaking ball with depth, and he showed the ability to bury it down and out of the zone on occasion. On the lower end of the velocity range, it was loose and lacked bite, and his release for the pitch varied. Duron showed some feel for his changeup as well, throwing it with deceptive arm speed at 83-85 mph in the second outing. He was willing to use it in any count, and the pitch showed drop at times.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">With the potential for at least three average pitches and a strong, athletic pitcher’s frame, Duron is an intriguing arm in a system that has been thinned out over the last few years. His development will be slow, and it could take him some time to figure things out, but if he does he could establish himself as one of the more intriguing right-handed arms in the system.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">-----</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/reyes-denyi.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-27-2017/i-zdVshNh/0/53e7eede/L/20170727_8996-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the more consistent arms for Lowell this season has been right-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/reyes-denyi.htm" target="_blank">Denyi Reyes</a></b>. Pitching out of the bullpen but in a “piggyback” role—pitching on a starter’s schedule and throwing longer outings than a typical reliever—in 46 innings, Reyes has a 1.57 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 38 strikeouts and just 6 walks. Reyes’ control has been his trademark as a pro, as he has walked just 13 batters in 155 2/3 innings in his three season since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2014.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, the 20-year-old Reyes has a solid pitcher’s frame with minimal remaining projection. He throws over the top with no wind up and a medium leg kick. He gets some deception by keeping his arm behind his body until late and gets good plane on his pitches.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Reyes’ fastball sits 86-89 mph, topping out at 90 mph. The pitch will show sink on some occasions and cut on others. He compliments the pitch with a 81-83 mph changeup and 72-76 mph curveball. His curveball has long, 11-to-5 break, but he tends to slow his arm and cast the ball to the plate at times.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">-----</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/pantoja-yorvin.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-August-4-2017/i-vXVdRTf/0/b25999bc/XL/20170804_9396-XL.jpg" width="159" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Venezuelan left-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/pantoja-yorvin.htm" target="_blank">Yorvin Pantoja</a></b> has had his struggles this season with Lowell, putting up a 6.20 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 40 2/3 innings. The 19-year-old looks taller than his listed 5-foot-11, 175 pounds and has a skinny frame with some projection. He’s a solid athlete and throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a short arm action.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><style type="text/css">p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15.0px} </style> <br /><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pantoja features three pitches, though none project as better than average. His fastball works at 88-90 mph, topping out at 91 mph, with below-average command and control. His changeup is his best secondary, showing late drop and deceptive arm speed at its best. The pitch is inconsistent, but will flash average potential at 79-81 mph. Pantoja will also feature a curveball at 75-79 mph that is well below-average. He lacks feel for the pitch and it tends to roll to the plate with 1-to-7 shape.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i>Photo credit: Nick Duron, Denyi Reyes and Yorvin Pantoja by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Ian Cundall</b><span style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp;is&nbsp;Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/gVAy9W5AO8Y" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Ian Cundallhttps://plus.google.com/114862263727483328373noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-nick-duron-denyi-reyes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-10935553410059970622017-08-16T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-16T09:52:46.057-04:00Cup of Coffee: Requena carries Drive with solid start<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/castillo-rusney.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oz6riqI9Nyk/WZPHhXI-lWI/AAAAAAAABCE/4OFxKzod3ygImmMo01lxcTHAv_V1FshzQCLcBGAs/s200/castillo.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/16 Cup of Coffee: </i>With few wins to be found in the system, <b>Hildemaro Requena</b>&nbsp;stood out with an impressive start for Greenville. <b>Rusney Castillo</b>&nbsp;(<i>pictured</i>) provided the little offense Pawtucket could muster. <b>Danny Mars</b>&nbsp;led a 10-hit Portland attack, but the Sea Dogs still fell. Three Lowell players participated in the New York-Penn League All-Star Game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_pawaaa_louaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_pawaaa_louaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Louisville Bats (CIN) 3, Pawtucket Red Sox 1 (Game 1)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The PawSox fell in the first tilt of Tuesday's doubleheader despite outhitting Louisville 10-9 in the game. Part of the problem was that only two of those ten hits were for extra bases. <b>Rusney Castillo</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 4 and drove in Pawtucket's lone run. <b>Sam Travis</b>&nbsp;also added a pair of hits, going 2 for 3. <b>Justin Haley </b>took the tough-luck loss, going the full six innings in the shortened game. He scattered nine hits, giving up three runs while walking two and striking out four.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_louaaa_pawaaa_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"></a><br /><a name='more'></a><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_louaaa_pawaaa_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_louaaa_pawaaa_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Louisville Bats (CIN) 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 1 (Game 2)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Playing as the "home team" in Louisville as part of a makeup game, the PawSox were left wanting for slugging, collecting just six singles in the game. Castillo again drove in his team's lone run. <b>Jake Romanski</b>&nbsp;was the only Sox player to collect more than one hit, going 2 for 3. <b>Carson Smith</b>&nbsp;did not fare well in a rehab appearance, allowing two runs on three hits in just 1/3 of an inning. <b>Marcus Walden</b>&nbsp;took the loss, giving up three runs (two earned) in four innings of work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_altaax_prtaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Altoona Curve (PIT) 5, Portland Sea Dogs 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Portland racked up 10 hits, but its two through five hitters went a combined 1 for 16, quashing hopes for a rally. <b>Danny Mars</b>&nbsp;led the offense with a 2-for-5 night with two RBI. <b>Jordan Procyshen</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. <b>Teddy Stankiewicz</b>&nbsp;took the loss, despite authoring a quality start. He gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He walked two and struck out three.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_salafa_potafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Potomac Nationals (WAS) 5, Salem Red Sox 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Salem was held without a hit from the third inning on and collected just two hits overall. <b>Jordan Betts</b>&nbsp;provided Salem's lone run with his 13th home run of the season. <b>Matthew Kent</b>&nbsp;allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. He walked four and struck out five.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 2, Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hildemaro Requena </b>impressed on the mound for Greenville, hurling six shutout innings. He gave up just four hits - all singles - walking three and striking out four. <b>Joan Martinez</b>&nbsp;excelled out of the bullpen, striking out four in two shutout innings. <b>Brett Netzer</b>&nbsp;went 1 for 3 with an RBI. <b>Tyler Hill </b>drove in the eventual game-winning run on an RBI groundout.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&amp;gid=2017_08_15_npsasx_npnasx_1&amp;sid=l127" target="_blank">New York-Penn League South All-Stars 5, New York-Penn League North All-Stars 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All three Lowell Spinners who made the North All-Stars saw action in Tuesday's exhibition. <b>Garrett Benge</b>&nbsp;started the All-Star Game at third base, hitting fifth. He went 0 for 1 with a walk. <b>Yoan Aybar</b>&nbsp;came off the bench to play center field, going 0 for 2 at the dish. <b>Denyi Reyes</b>&nbsp;pitched the fifth inning, giving up a run on two hits and a walk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_orirok_rsxrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Orioles (BAL) 4, GCL Red Sox 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A four-run ninth inning sank the GCL squad, as <b>Jose Gonzalez</b>&nbsp;could not hold on for the save. <b>Angel Padron</b>&nbsp;put together an excellent start, going five shutout innings. He allowed just three hits, walking two and striking out four. <b>Andre Colon</b>&nbsp;drove in his team's lone run. <b>Pedro Castellanos</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 4 with a double</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_dabrok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 2, DSL Astros Blue (HOU) 0</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The DSL squad was held to just one hit in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, but still managed to pull out the the win. <b>Rafael Rincones </b>was credited with a steal of home during a pickoff attempt. <b>Keibert Petit</b>, who collected the team's only hit, scored on an error. <b>Rayniel Moreno</b>&nbsp;was superb in his start, going six shutout innings. He gave up just three hits while walking two and striking out two.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_15_drsrok_dabrok_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Astros Blue (HOU) 7, DSL Red Sox 5</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A five-run third inning sank the Sox in game two. <b>Rafael Rincones</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. <b>Jonathan Diaz </b>went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Night: </b>No one player stood out, but <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/requena-hildemaro.htm" target="_blank">Hildemaro Requena</a> </b>impressed with his six shutout innings. The 20-year-old Venezuela native converted to a starter on July 24 and has excelled in the role. In five starts he has a 1.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched.</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/Ihwm1lGjFl0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Eric Gendronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15570644352309424168noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-requena-carries-drive.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-51545534332777528752017-08-15T16:07:00.001-04:002017-08-16T09:58:07.219-04:00Podcast Ep. 128: I Read the Spark Notes and it was Pretty Interesting<div style="text-align: justify;">Promotions marked the start of August, and having seen Pawtucket, Portland, and Lowell recently between them, Chris and Ian had plenty to talk about. Included in the first-hand talk are the surging (and relevant again?) Bryce Brentz, the new-look Henry Owens, the red-hot Michael Chavis, and 2017 draftees Brett Netzer and Jake Thompson, among others. </div><br />Listen In!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><strong>Podcast Show Notes</strong><br /><br />2:00 - Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on <a href="http://patreon.com/soxprospects">Patreon</a>. Plus it's the <a href="http://soxprospects.com/donate.htm">SoxProspects Annual Drive</a>. <br />9:30 - Josh Ockimey Promotion<br />14:30 - Early August Promotions Round-Up<br />21:30 - Blake Swihart is Playing Again<br />25:15 - Ian's Notes from Pawtucket<br />49:30 - Chris' Reflections on Portland<br />1:15:00 - Lowell Lightning Round<br />1:20:45 - Pawtucket relocation?<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to <a href="mailto:podcast@soxprospects.com">email us</a>. </div><br />Players discussed: <br /><ul><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/devers-rafael.htm">Rafael Devers</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/ockimey-josh.htm">Josh Ockimey</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/netzer-brett.htm">Brett Netzer</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/martinez-joan.htm">Joan Martinez</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/florentino-juan.htm">Juan Florentino</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/gorst-matthew.htm">Matthew Gorst</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/swihart-blake.htm">Blake Swihart</a></li><li><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=smith-009car">Carson Smith</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/workman-brandon.htm">Brandon Workman</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/travis-sam.htm">Sam Travis</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/brentz-bryce.htm">Bryce Brentz</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/castillo-rusney.htm">Rusney Castillo</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/beeks-jalen.htm">Jalen Beeks</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/haley-justin.htm">Justin Haley</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/taylor-benjamin.htm">Ben Taylor</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/jerez-williams.htm">Williams Jerez</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/chavis-michael.htm">Michael Chavis</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/mars-danny.htm">Danny Mars</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/sturgeon-cole.htm">Cole Sturgeon</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/tobias-josh.htm">Josh Tobias</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/delaguerra-chad.htm">Chad De La Guerra</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/owens-henry.htm">Henry Owens</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/mcavoy-kevin.htm">Kevin McAvoy</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/cosart-jake.htm">Jake Cosart</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/grover-taylor.htm">Taylor Grover</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/thompson-jake.htm">Jake Thompson</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/duron-nick.htm">Nick Duron</a></li><li><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/campana-marino.htm">Marino Campana</a></li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on <strong>Patreon!</strong> Go to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects">Sox Prospects on Patreon</a> for the details. And don't forget the SoxProspects.com Annual Pledge Drive continues. Your help is greatly appreciated. <br /><br /></div><strong>Podcast Twitter Links:</strong><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield">@SPChrisHatfield</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://twitter.com/IanCundall">@IanCundall</a></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://twitter.com/SoxProspects">@SoxProspects</a></li></ul><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/soxprospects-com-podcast/id309680652">Subscribe on iTunes</a> (please rate and review!)<br /><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/soxprospectscom-podcast">Subscribe on Stitcher</a> (please rate and review!)<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwy0TNxlgwVx4vdAxeV7GYjb4mfVYugZ">Listen on YouTube</a><br /><a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ivtlkmeoitdbusqz4w7pupwmvsq">Listen on Google Play Music</a><br /><a href="http://soxprospects.com/podcast/index.htm">Podcast Archive</a><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5645964/height/90/width/640/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/zOxfp0xJxPY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Joe Tetreaulthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16221627040466212494noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/podcast-ep-128-i-read-spark-notes-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-30951445564226220702017-08-15T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-15T07:00:08.300-04:00Cup of Coffee: Raudes deals as Salem battles Strasburg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/raudes-roniel.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-February-28-2017/i-WNC3ndB/0/a4abc2e0/X2/20170228_6457-X2.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><i>8/15 Cup of Coffee: </i>With Pawtucket, Portland, Greenville, and Lowell having the day off and the DSL Red Sox game being rained out, it was a light schedule on Monday night. In the two games that did take place, <b>Roniel Raudes </b><i>(pictured)&nbsp;</i>outdueled <b>Stephen Strasburg</b>, and the GCL Red Sox rallied in the top of the ninth to come away victorious.<br /><br />-----<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_14_salafa_potafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Potomac Nationals (WAS) 3,&nbsp;</a></b><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_14_salafa_potafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Salem Red Sox 2</a></b><br />With Salem facing one of the best pitchers in baseball, it was <b>Roniel Raudes</b>&nbsp;who stole the show by turning in one of the best performances of his career. Raudes went seven innings, which tied a career-high, and allowed only one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out six as he lowered his ERA to 4.38.&nbsp;<b>Pat Goetze</b> could not hold the lead, allowing two runs in the eighth as he blew his first save with Salem.<br /><a name='more'></a>The Red Sox could not get much offense going, collecting only six hits, with three of those coming off of Strasburg in his five innings.&nbsp;<b>Conrad Gregor</b> got to him for a double in the first inning, but that was the team's only extra-base hit on the night.&nbsp;<b>Jose Sermo</b> went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a stolen base, and&nbsp;<b>Jeremy Rivera </b>went 1 for 3 with a stolen base.<br /><i><br /></i>-----<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_14_rsxrok_orirok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Red Sox 4, GCL Orioles (BAL) 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Down by two entering the ninth, the Red Sox scored three runs on an error and a wild pitch as the Orioles collapsed down the stretch. After&nbsp;<b>Everlouis Lozada</b> walked and&nbsp;<b>Ricardo Cubillan</b> singled to start the ninth, a throwing error by pitcher allowed both runs to score and&nbsp;<b>Ramfis Berroa</b> to reach second base. Berroa then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Second-round pick <b>Cole Brannen</b> went 1 for 3 with a double, his second extra-base hit in 104 at-bats, and&nbsp;<b>Juan Carlos Abreu</b> went 2 for 3 with a triple and a walk but was also picked off twice.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Edilson Batista</b> got the start and struggled through three innings, surrendering two runs on four hits and three walks. Batista now has 15 walks and only 13 strikeouts over 30 innings this season.&nbsp;<b>Hunter Haworth</b> picked up his first career win with three shutout innings of relief, and&nbsp;<b>Marcos Lantigua </b>earned the save with a scoreless ninth.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>DSL Red Sox at DSL Astros Blue (HOU), PPD</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monday's game was postponed, and the two teams will play a doubleheader on Tuesday.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Night: <a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/raudes-roniel.htm" target="_blank">Roniel Raudes</a>&nbsp;</b>entered the game in a slump, allowing 14 runs on 28 hits over his last 19 1/3 innings. He bounced back in a big way on Monday with seven innings of one-run ball. Raudes has not been able to replicate the success he had in Greenville last season, where he was a SoxProspects.com All-Star as an 18-year-old. Even with a step back in the results this year, Raudes is holding his own while facing competition that is four years older than him on average. He will always be a high-risk prospect due to his lack of overpowering stuff, but his strong track record and feel for pitching will keep him on the prospect radar.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Roniel Raudes by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/qIW-WRo3wd8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jim Crowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07242721829102248162noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-raudes-deals-as-salem.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-91373273958292759412017-08-14T17:00:00.000-04:002017-08-14T19:37:13.581-04:00Minor Notes: Thompson battles McKay <div style="text-align: justify;">Here are Monday's<span id="goog_1885172328"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1885172329"></span> minor notes:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/campana-marino.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="240" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-August-11-2017/i-kXQ22nR/0/5f71399a/S/20170811_6021-S.jpg" width="180" /></a></div></div><ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">SoxProspects.com's Director of Scouting Ian Cundall <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-jake-thompson-and.html" target="_blank">recently got a chance to see a pair of 2017 draft picks in action</a>. Cundall writes about what he saw from fourth-round selection <b>Jake Thompson</b>, including a detailed observation on the right-handed pitcher's impressive sequence to 2017 fourth overall pick <b>Brendan McKay</b>. Cundall also writes about third-round selection <b>Brett Netzer</b>, a second baseman who was recently called up to Greenville after hitting .317 in Lowell.&nbsp;</div></li><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Last night, <b>Blake Swihart</b> made his return to Triple-A Pawtucket after nine games with the GCL Red Sox. He was the DH for the PawSox last night and went 0 for 4.&nbsp;</div></li><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Brendan McGair of the <i>Pawtucket Times</i> <a href="http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/sports/as-usual-pawsox-have-no-shortage-of-candidates-for-september/article_80450020-7dd1-11e7-88a8-6f952f635a1d.html" target="_blank">writes about some potential</a> PawSox September callus.&nbsp;</div><a name='more'></a></li><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">SoxProspects.com's Executive Editor Chris Hatfield got a chance to see the Portland Sea Dogs on Saturday and Sunday and recorded some notes on <a href="https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. He saw <b>Henry Owens</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield/status/896556358191001600" target="_blank">pitch well</a> on Saturday and <b>Kevin McAvoy</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield/status/896803892721311744" target="_blank">run into some bad luck</a> on Sunday.&nbsp;</div></li><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In case you missed it, top prospect <b>Rafael Devers</b> <a href="https://www.mlb.com/redsox/video/statcast-devers-423-ft-homer/c-1726728883?tid=240568594" target="_blank">launched a 423-foot bomb</a> to left-center field to tie Sunday night's game against the Yankees. The homer came off a 102.8 MPH fastball from left-hander <b>Aroldis Chapman</b>.&nbsp;</div></li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Alex Speier of the Boston Globe <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2017/08/14/rafael-devers-and-andrew-benintendi-are-reminder-rex-sox-have-not-mortgaged-their-future/ylqf99tTqaEs1CgC6ZWNlN/story.html" target="_blank">writes about</a> how Devers and <b>Andrew Benintendi</b> are reminders that Boston, despite trading a lot of prospects recently, has not mortgaged the future.&nbsp;</div></li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to being named the SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (below), Lowell Spinners outfielder <b>Marino Campana</b> was named the New York-Penn League Player of the Week after staying red hot at the plate.&nbsp;</div></li><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Players of the Week 8/7-8/13</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/campana-marino.htm" target="_blank">Marino Campana</a></b>, OF, Lowell Spinners</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6 G, 24 AB, 11 H, 5 2B, 1 HR, 5 R, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K, .458/.500/.792</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Campana <i>(pictured, above)&nbsp;</i>is currently riding a very impressive 16-game hitting streak dating back to July 24. He has had multiple hits in three of his last four games and has logged at least on RBI in six consecutive games. During the hitting streak, he has raised his batting average with Lowell from .167 to .277.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Campana was an international free agent signing out of the Dominican Republic in July of 2014. The 19-year-old spent time with the DSL Red Sox and GCL Red Sox last season and was called up to Lowell this year after beginning in the GCL. His overall line with Lowell in 29 games is .277/.308/.402.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/reyes-denyi.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="375" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-27-2017/i-ZjFhbLm/0/baa596d2/S/20170727_9009-S.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/reyes-denyi.htm" target="_blank">Denyi Reyes</a></b>, RHP, Lowell Spinners</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 G, 6 2/3 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 0.30 WHIP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reyes is working on a string of five consecutive outings in which he has gone at least five innings and given up zero earned runs. He also has a very impressive 18 strikeouts and zero walks in that same span.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reyes, like Campana, was an international free agent signing out of the Dominican Republic in July of 2014. The 20-year-old has a 1.57 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 46 innings for Lowell this season.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Marino Campana and Denyi Reyes by Kelly O'Connor</i>&nbsp;</div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/KmuQEttCXFk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Nick Rabascohttps://plus.google.com/117180698157626174422noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/minor-notes-thompson-battles-mckay.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-68519891965690701932017-08-14T08:00:00.000-04:002017-08-15T02:01:52.943-04:00Scouting Scratch: Jake Thompson and Brett Netzer<div class="p1"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/images/thompson.jake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://soxprospects.com/players/images/thompson.jake.jpg" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="116" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">LOWELL, Mass. -- One of the last members of the 2017 draft class to sign, right-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/thompson-jake.htm" target="_blank">Jake Thompson</a></b> made his professional debut on August 3 against Hudson Valley, a team boasting one of the more prospect-laden lineups in the New York-Penn League. Thompson only threw one inning, featuring all four of his pitches over the 21-pitch outing. He allowed three hits—all on weak contact—and two runs while striking out two.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thompson is listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and has a filled-out frame with a thick lower half. He will be 23 in September, making him old for a 2017 draftee, and doesn’t have much physical projection remaining. Thompson threw exclusively from the stretch, starting on the first base side of the rubber, and has few moving parts to his delivery. He threw from a three-quarters arm slot with some effort and short arm action, and utilized a medium leg kick. He has some deception, hiding the ball behind his body until late. He showed plus arm speed and did a good job keeping his line to the plate.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thompson’s fastball sat 94-96 mph. The pitch was on the straight side with average life. He got one swinging strike with the pitch on his final pitch of the evening, at 94 mph, up-and-in against a right-handed hitter.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span></div><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thompson complimented his fastball with a slider, changeup, and curveball. His slider showed the most potential of the three, though he also missed bats with his changeup. Thompson’s slider worked 86-87 mph, flashing plus potential with depth and late bite. The pitch had two-plane, 10-to-4 break, and he showed feel for the offering. He got two swinging strikes with the pitch and the first strikeout of his career against Brendan McKay, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The pitch sequence in the McKay at-bat was especially impressive. Thompson started the left-handed hitter off with an 85-mph changeup down in the zone for a swinging strike. He followed with a 96-mph fastball inside for a ball and another at 96 that McKay fouled off. Thompson then buried an 87-mph slider down-and-in for a swinging third strike. The pitch showed good depth, starting in the zone before falling off the table and out of the zone towards McKay’s back foot.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thompson also featured his changeup prominently, but it was inconsistent. It would flash average-to-better, but otherwise was below average. He threw the pitch 83-86 mph with deceptive arm speed, and it had drop and fade at its best. Other times, it was on the firm side and looked like a fastball he took something off of. He also got two swinging strikes with his changeup, one against a right-handed hitter and one against a left-handed hitter.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thompson’s curveball lags behind his other secondary offerings. He threw it 73-77 mph, but didn’t snap it off and the pitch was loose. He didn’t show much feel for the pitch and on two occasions—once in warm ups and once in-game—threw the pitch way up and out of his catcher’s reach. The pitch looks like a work in progress and at best a show-me pitch to steal a strike in the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">This was only a one-inning look, and even though the stat line doesn’t necessarily show it, Thompson was impressive. His fastball-slider combination could play in a bullpen role, and even potentially allow him to be fast-tracked to the majors in a relief role, but his changeup showed enough potential that it is worth developing him as a starter, at least initially. Given his age, if his development stalls, that his stuff could play up in the bullpen as a backup plan is definitely a plus.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">-----</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/netzer-brett.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-27-2017/i-NNB4s3w/0/553bb3ff/L/20170727_8542-L.jpg" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The first college hitter drafted by the Red Sox this year, second baseman <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/netzer-brett.htm" target="_blank">Brett Netzer</a></b> lasted only 22 games in Lowell before a promotion to Greenville. During his time in Lowell, the third-round pick out of UNC Charlotte hit .317/.376/.390 with six doubles and nine walks compared to 20 strikeouts in 94 plate appearances. Since his promotion, Netzer has played in 11 games, hitting .175/.233/.200 in 43 plate appearances.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Netzer has an average frame, listed at 6-feet, 195 pounds. He has some projection remaining, especially in his upper body. A left-handed hitter, Netzer starts in an open stance with his hands high and active pre-pitch. He utilizes a toe-tap timing device and has above-average bat speed. He tracks the ball well and shows advanced pitch recognition and knowledge of the strike zone.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Netzer showed solid feel for hit and bat control during his time with Lowell. He has a slight uppercut to his swing and keeps the barrel in the zone a long time. In games scouted, he showed the ability to use all fields, though he didn’t show more than gap power. Netzer doesn’t have a lot of loft in his swing, and over-the-fence power is unlikely to be a major part of his game, especially early in his career. Netzer has average speed, but hasn’t had any success stealing bases thus far, going 0-for-3 in his time with Lowell, although he was successful in his first attempt with the Drive.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Defensively, Netzer didn’t get much action at second base in the games scouted. He did show average range, and his hands seemed good enough that he should be able to stick there long term, though at this point he doesn’t look like a potential standout defender.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Given the lack of bats in the Red Sox system, Netzer already is one of its top middle infield prospects. He doesn’t have a high ceiling, but has the potential to stick at second base with an average over power<b> </b>profile. Given he is already in Greenville, he’ll likely start next year in Salem, putting him on an aggressive track that could find him in the high minors at some point next year.</span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Photo credit: Jake Thompson courtesy of www.osubeavers.com and Brett Netzer by Kelly O'Connor</span></i></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Ian Cundall</b><span style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp;is&nbsp;Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/RaMk3kVV7Hw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Ian Cundallhttps://plus.google.com/114862263727483328373noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-jake-thompson-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-52448938177256446322017-08-14T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-14T07:00:11.843-04:00Cup of Coffee: Beeks throws six strong, Sturgeon collects four hits<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/sturgeon-cole.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Portland-Sea-Dogs/Portland-Sea-Dogs-April-9-2017/i-FDH8rcr/0/e85ed1d8/X2/20170409_0569-X2.jpg" width="180" /></a><i>8/14 Cup of Coffee: </i>Sunday featured several strong pitching performances throughout the Red Sox affiliates. Six innings of one-run ball by&nbsp;<b>Jalen Beeks </b>weren't enough in a loss for the PawSox. However, both Salem and Greenville were victorious courtesy of strong starts by <b>Kyle Hart </b>and <b>Jhonathan Diaz</b>. The Sea Dogs lost a slugfest despite fantastic games for <b>Cole Sturgeon </b>(<i>pictured</i>) and <b>Chad De La Guerra</b>. The Spinners recorded 17 hits and 12 runs to back <b>Jake Thompson</b>'s scoreless start.&nbsp;</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_colaaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t533">Columbus Clippers (CLE) 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Southpaw <b>Jalen Beeks </b>continued his excellent season with six strong innings, allowing a run on two hits and two walks while fanning six. However, the bullpen blew Beeks' chance at a win as <b>Chandler Shepherd </b>and <b>Noe Ramirez </b>each allowed two runs. The PawSox scored both runs in the second inning on a leadoff homer by <b>Steve Selsky </b>and an RBI single by <b>Jake Romanski</b>. Romanski was 2 for 3 with a walk.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_prtaax_bowaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t546">Bowie Baysox (BAL) 8, Portland Sea Dogs 6</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sea Dogs were unable to pull out a win despite a 14-hit performance by the lineup. <b>Cole Sturgeon </b>was the star of the day, going 4 for 5 with a double, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. <b>Chad De La Guerra </b>went 3 for 5 with a double and two RBI. Catcher <b>Danny Bethea </b>went 3 for 4 with a double, a walk, a run, and an RBI. <b>Kevin McAvoy </b>started on the hill and took the loss after surrendering four runs on seven hits in five innings. <b>Jake Cosart </b>tossed a shutout inning, allowing two hits but striking out the side.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_wilafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t414"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_wilafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t414">Salem Red Sox 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks (KCR) 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Starting pitcher <b>Kyle Hart </b>earned the win with seven shutout frames for Salem, though he did walk five and strike out six. <b>Austin Glorius </b>gave up two runs in an inning of relief and <b>Daniel McGrath </b>picked up his third save with a shutout ninth. Shortstop <b>Jeremy Rivera </b>was 2 for 3 with an RBI. First baseman <b>Conrad Gregor </b>was 1 for 4 with two RBI.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_romafx_capafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t428">Greenville Drive 2, Rome Braves (ATL) 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jhonathan Diaz </b>stole the show in Greenville, tossing seven frames of one-run ball with six strikeouts and a walk. <b>Algenis Martinez </b>threw two shutout innings in relief and won his third game of the season. Third baseman <b>Bobby Dalbec </b>reached base in all four plate appearances, going 2 for 2 with two walks. <b>Mitchell Gunsolus </b>was 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a run.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_aubasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t558"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_13_aubasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t558">Lowell Spinners 12, Auburn Doubledays (WAS) 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Going 3 for 4 with two doubles, a run, and three RBI, left fielder <b>Marino Campana </b>led Lowell's offensive onslaught on Sunday. Center fielder <b>Yoan Aybar</b>&nbsp;went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs, and two RBI. <b>Garrett Benge </b>went 2 for 4 with a double, two runs, a walk, and an RBI. Fourth-rounder <b>Jake Thompson </b>made his third professional start, walking two in two scoreless frames. <b>Dakota Smith </b>allowed three runs on nine hits in three innings but struck out five and earned the win. <b>Taylor Ahearn </b>tossed four shutout innings, striking out three.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Day: </b>The Sea Dogs lost on Sunday but <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/sturgeon-cole.htm">Cole Sturgeon</a> </b>did everything possible to keep Portland in the game. Sturgeon was 4 for 5 with a double, a home run, two runs, and three RBI. That home run was a two-run shot in the ninth inning to pull the Sea Dogs within two runs of Bowie, though the rally eventually fell short. Sturgeon, whom the Red Sox drafted in the 10th round in 2014, is now hitting .255/.322/.362 in Portland this season.&nbsp;</div><br /><i>Photo Credit: Cole Sturgeon by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i><br /></i><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/x3fIEa_IVLU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Conor Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14224342221383860505noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-beeks-throws-six-strong.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-55557511153589152002017-08-13T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-13T16:26:04.834-04:00Cup of Coffee: Owens looks sharp, Groome takes tough loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/owens-henry.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Of6GMcCLlLM/WY_Uvwo2RFI/AAAAAAAABBs/caAWF5hbfR0VvtAuRwk9VUWWhaWYnYX7gCLcBGAs/s200/owens.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/13 Cup of Coffee:</i>&nbsp;The new arm slot appears to be benefiting<i>&nbsp;</i><b>Henry Owens</b>&nbsp;(<i>pictured</i>) as the big lefty looked sharp in a win for Portland. <b>Jay Groome</b>&nbsp;racked up the strikeouts but ended up with the loss as the Greenville bats went silent. Pawtucket got back-to-back home runs from unlikely sources. <b>Jhon Nunez</b>&nbsp;and <b>Victor Acosta</b>&nbsp;keyed a Salem come back.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_colaaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Columbus Clippers (CLE) 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A late rally came up short for the PawSox, despite three home runs from the offense. <b>Dan Butler</b>&nbsp;and <b>Deven Marrero</b>&nbsp;went back-to-back in the fifth inning. The recently red-hot <b>Brian Bogusevic</b>&nbsp;added his ninth long ball of the season to bring Pawtucket within one, but the rally ended there. <b>Hector Velazquez</b>&nbsp;gave up five runs (four earned) in four innings of work. <b>Shawn Haviland</b>&nbsp;kept the Sox within striking distance with four shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and three walks while striking out four.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_prtaax_bowaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Portland Sea Dogs 4, Bowie Baysox (BAL) 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Henry Owens</b>&nbsp;was "the best he's looked with his new arm slot," according to SoxProspects Executive Editor Chris Hatfield who was in attendance for the game, as the beleaguered lefty got the win. Owens allowed one run on just one hit in five innings of work, walking two and striking out four. <b>Jeremy Barfield</b>&nbsp;smacked his 22nd home run of the season. <b>Danny Mars </b>went 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI. <b>Cole Sturgeon</b>&nbsp;went 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_wilafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Salem Red Sox 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks (KC) 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jhon Nunez </b>and <b>Victor Acosta</b>&nbsp;came up with clutch back-to-back hits to key Salem's comeback victory on Saturday. Nunez tied the game on a two-run single and Acosta drove him in on an RBI double. <b>Conrad Gregor</b>&nbsp;hit his first home run since signing with the Red Sox organization, going 2 for 4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. <b>Logan Boyd</b>&nbsp;picked up the win, despite allowing nine hits in five innings of work. He gave up four runs, walking one and striking out two.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_romafx_capafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Rome Braves (ATL) 2, Greenville Drive 0 (Game 1)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jay Groome</b>&nbsp;was the tough-luck loser in the first game of the doubleheader, giving up just two runs in five innings of work. Groome gave up seven hits, including a solo home run, but did not allow a walk and struck out seven. There wasn't much action on the offensive side of the ball for Greenville with the three through seven hitters failing to collect a hit. <b>Carlos Tovar</b>&nbsp;was the only Drive player two record a multi-hit night, going 2 for 3.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_romafx_capafx_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Rome Braves (ATL) 4, Greenville Drive &nbsp;0 (Game 2)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was more of the same for Greenville in the nightcap. <b>Daniel Gonzalez</b>&nbsp;took the complete-game loss, giving up four runs (three earned) in seven innings of work. He allowed five hits, but struck out eight and walked one. <b>Santiago</b>&nbsp;<b>Espinal</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 3, collecting half of the team's hits in the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_aubasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Lowell Spinners 5, Auburn Doubledays (WAS) 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Raiwinson Lameda</b>&nbsp;kicked off the scoring for Lowell with a two-run blast in the second inning. <b>Garrett Benge</b>, a 13th round draft pick in this year's MLB draft, went 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI. Top overall draft pick&nbsp;<b>Tanner Houck </b>had a tough time in his one inning of work, <b>Denyi Reyes </b>was stellar in relief, hurling 6 2/3 innings of shutout relief. He struck out six and did allow a walk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_twirok_rsxrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Red Sox 5, GCL Twins (MIN) 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The GCL squad rallied to tie the game in the ninth on an&nbsp;<b>Andre Colon</b>&nbsp;sacrifice fly, then walked off in the tenth on a sac fly from <b>Pedro Castellanos</b>. A rehabbing <b>Blake Swihart</b>&nbsp;reached base four times, going 2 for 2 with two walks, a double, an RBI and a run scored. Swihart also stole two bases, putting his ankle to the test. <b>Juan Perez</b>&nbsp;impressed on the mound, striking out nine in five innings of work. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_12_drsrok_datrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Athletics (OAK) 4, DSL Red Sox 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All of the DSL squad's offense was limited to a three-run third.&nbsp;<b>Ivan Houellemont</b>&nbsp;went 1 for 4 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. <b>Luis Colmenares</b>&nbsp;settled for the no-decision, giving up two runs on five hits in four innings of work. He struck out six and walked three.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Night: </b>Looking somewhat back on track, <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/owens-henry.htm" target="_blank">Henry Owens</a></b>&nbsp;gets the nod. Owens is now throwing from a "true sidearm to low 3/4" and "frankly looked like a pitcher that'll be back up in the bigs at some point,"&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield" target="_blank">according to Chris Hatfield</a>. Owens' fastball ranged from 89-93 mph, touching 94, mixing in a slider and a changeup.<br /><br /><i>Photo Credit: Henry Owens by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/nG2jMmITTH8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Eric Gendronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15570644352309424168noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-owens-looks-sharp-groome.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-26977550321498141352017-08-12T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-12T08:38:40.444-04:00Cup of Coffee: Brentz, Barfield homer; Hernandez deals <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-prei-E0LmBw/WY6F2pwVxsI/AAAAAAAAPV4/DbVIDTOPBGQIChfGsvoudFrZtFj-VMzRwCLcBGAs/s1600/20160322_4830-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-prei-E0LmBw/WY6F2pwVxsI/AAAAAAAAPV4/DbVIDTOPBGQIChfGsvoudFrZtFj-VMzRwCLcBGAs/s200/20160322_4830-L.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><i>8/12 Cup of Coffee</i>: <b>Darwinzon Hernandez</b> (<i>pictured</i>) and <b>Roenis Elias</b> delivered strong starts for Greenville and Pawtucket. <b>Tzu-Wei Lin</b> had a big game and <b>Bryce Brentz</b> and <b>Jeremy Barfield</b> stayed hot with another home run apiece. </span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><br /></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">-----</span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_colaaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t533" target="_blank">Pawtucket Red Sox 8, Columbus Clippers (CLE) 1</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">The PawSox used a six-run third to propel them to victory. <b>Tzu-Wei Lin</b> led the way out of the leadoff spot by going 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles. <b>Deven Marrero</b> also had two hits and two RBI. <b>Bryce Brentz</b> hit his 27th home run of the year, while <b>Rusney Castillo</b> and <b>Matt Dominguez</b> also belted home runs. <b>Roenis Elias</b> pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. <b>Kyle Martin</b> and <b>Austin Maddox</b> finished it off, as each picked up three strikeouts.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">-----</span></span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><b></b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_prtaax_bowaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t546" target="_blank"></a><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_prtaax_bowaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t546" target="_blank">Bowie Baysox (BAL) 4, Portland Sea Dogs 2</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">The Sea Dogs had their game called after just five innings of play. <b>Jeremy Barfield</b> stayed hot with another home run, his 21st. <b>Josh Tobias</b> went 2 for 2 and <b>Cole Sturgeon</b> added a double. <b>Trey Ball</b> struggled and took the loss, allowing four runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts. <b>Jacob Dahlstrand</b> faced one batter and induced a double play ball.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">-----</span></span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_wilafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t414" target="_blank">Wilmington Blue Rocks (KC) 4, Salem Red Sox 2</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">Salem took the loss as <b>Mike Shawaryn</b> struggled to find the strike zone. He walked four in just 2 2/3 innings while allowing three runs. <b>Marc Brakeman</b> was solid in relief, going 3 2/3 innings and allowing just one run with three strikeouts. <b>Harrison Cooney</b> tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings to finish it out. <b>Jose Sermo</b> had a big night by going 2 for 4 with a home run. <b>Austin Rei</b> added a double.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">-----</span></span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_romafx_capafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 1, Rome Braves (ATL) 0</a></b><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">Greenville walked it off in the bottom of the eighth on a <b>Roldani Baldwin</b> pinch-hit RBI single. <b>Tyler Hill</b> and <b>Santiago Espinal</b> each went 2 for 4 and <b>Brett Netzer</b> drew a pair of walks. <b>Darwinzon Hernandez</b> dominated for the first 6 1/3, surrendering just two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. <b>Robby Sexton</b> got the win in relief with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 scoreless innings.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><b>Rome Braves (ATL) @ Greenville Drive (Game two; PPD)</b></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">Game two between the Braves and Drive was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader today. </span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">-----</span></span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_aubasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t558" target="_blank">Lowell Spinners 4, Auburn Doubledays (WAS) 3</a></b><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">The Spinners held on after taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI infield single by <b>Yoan Aybar</b>. The first four hitters in the Lowell lineup, <b>Michael Osinski</b>, <b>Frankie Rios</b>, <b>Marino Campanos</b>, and <b>Juan Barriento</b>, each collected two hits. <b>Enmanuel De Jesus</b> tossed five solid innings, allowing just two earned runs with one walks and seven strikeouts. <b>Ryan Oduber</b> and <b>Lukas Young</b> each threw two scoreless innings, with Oduber picking up three strikeouts.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">-----</span></span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_rsxrok_twirok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 3</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b>Kervin Suarez</b> had a big day out of the leadoff spot by going 2 for 5 with three RBI. <b>Pedro Castellanos </b>also had two hits and <b>Blake Swihart</b> played first base and went 0 for 3. <b>Rayinel Adames</b> lasted just 1 2/3 innings and allowed three runs. <b>Jose Gonzalez</b> and <b>Alejandro Rodriguez</b> combined for six shutout innings.</span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><br /></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1">-----</span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_11_datrok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 4, DSL Athletics 3</a></b><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b>Isaac Pinales </b>started and was solid, allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts and two walks. <b>Geraldo Perez</b> picked up the win in relief with two shutout frames. <b>Reinaldo Ugueto</b> went 3 for 4 and <b>Keibert Petit</b> had two hits including a double.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><b>Player of the Night</b>: <b>Darwinzon Hernandez</b> had been solid all year and had allowed just two runs over his last 11 2/3 innings pitched. The lefty had a 3.89 ERA in 83 1/3 innings in 2017 with 93 strikeouts and 43 walks.<span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"></span><br /><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><i>Photo Credit: Darwinzon Hernandez by Kelly O'Connor</i><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="m_-8031054057362172418s1"><span class="m_-8031054057362172418Apple-converted-space"></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike></div><div class="m_-8031054057362172418p1"><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/z3j1qfUEg94" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Nick Rabascohttps://plus.google.com/117180698157626174422noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-brentz-barfield-homer.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-54322255253046067602017-08-11T14:25:00.002-04:002017-08-11T14:25:51.085-04:00Minor Notes: Swihart debuts at first base<a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/swihart-blake.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Pawtucket-Red-Sox/PawSox-April-29-2017/i-c692CFp/0/dd685be4/X2/20170429_6238-X2.jpg" width="180" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are Friday's minor league notes:</div><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">In Thursday's <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-joan-martinez-juan.html">Scouting Scratch</a>, Director of Scouting Ian Cundall viewed three pitching prospects who have recently been promoted from Lowell to Greenville: right-handers&nbsp;<b>Joan Martinez </b>(ranked as the 44th-best prospect in the system), <b>Juan Florentino</b>, and <b>Jared Oliver</b>.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Rookie sensation <b>Rafael Devers </b>joined <a href="http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/08/rafael_devers_boston_red_sox_p_2.html">Harold Reynolds of MLB Network</a> on Thursday and talked about his hitting approach and his career thus far.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><a name='more'></a></div></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Blake Swihart </b>(<i>pictured</i>) made his <a href="http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/08/blake_swihart_plays_first_base.html">first professional start</a> at first base on Monday in the Gulf Coast League. The ankle injury that ended Swihart's last season has impacted his ability to catch and the Red Sox are experimenting with other positions for the 25-year old. Swihart also played at first base on Tuesday but has gone 0 for 6 between the two games.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Alex Speier&nbsp;<a href="http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/aggressive-approach-benefits-tzu-wei-lin/#iUEE3ePBGkji6VAP.97">authored an interesting read</a>&nbsp;about infielder&nbsp;<b>Tzu-Wei Lin</b>'s breakout at the plate this season. The 20th-ranked prospect is hitting only .234/.269/.299 since being optioned to Pawtucket but he had slashed .302/.379/.491 in Portland and .280/.379/.360 in Boston previously. An aggressive approach at the plate has potentially changed the career trajectory of Lin, who has profiled as a very light-hitting shortstop in the past and owns a .241/.313/.322 line in his minor league career.&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.outsidepitchmlb.com/boston-red-sox-trevor-kelley-growing/73507">Hunter Noll of Outside Pitch</a> has a spotlight on right-handed relief prospect <b>Trevor Kelley</b>. Kelly dominated in Salem this season with a 1.34 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings. Since a promotion to Portland he has a 4.60 ERA but he has improved and has only allowed one run in his last 6 2/3 frames.&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Right-hander <b>Carson Smith</b>, in Pawtucket on a rehab assignment, is <a href="http://www.weei.com/blogs/john-hand/wednesday-red-sox-farm-report-carson-smith-has-successful-rehab-appearance-pawtucket">feeling comfortable on the mound again</a>. After being acquired from the Mariners in December 2015, Smith pitched in only three games last season before undergoing Tommy John Surgery. He threw a scoreless inning for the PawSox on Tuesday.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Blake Swihart by Kelly O'Connor</i></div></div></div><div><ul></ul></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/b-7Atoz1-WE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Conor Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14224342221383860505noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/minor-notes-swihart-debuts-at-first-base.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-6642449907173794702017-08-11T09:04:00.000-04:002017-08-14T09:57:30.752-04:002017 Annual Donation Drive - We Need Your Help!<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">Dear readers,</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">The <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/06/2017drive.html"><b>SoxProspects.com Annual Drive</b></a> is still on!&nbsp;</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">We still need your help to hit our fundraising goal of $10,000 to keep the site up and running for another year. We are still quite a long way from this goal—less than halfway as of this writing, in fact—so if you've thought about contributing before but haven't gotten around to it, now is a GREAT time to jump in and show your support! In order to meet our fundraising goal for this year, we are extending the Annual Drive to run through the end of the minor league season in September.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">We set this fundraising goal at the level we believe will be necessary to maintain our current level of coverage and keep the site up and running. We've been able to do this for 14 years, and hope to continue to provide the best coverage of the Red Sox farm system on the web for no charge going forward. As we've stated before, your&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/donate.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">donations</a></b><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) travel costs to attend regular season games, spring training, and the Fall Instructional League; and (2) general IT costs (hardware, software, internet costs, hosting fees, etc.).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">We anticipate that our total costs could approach $20,000 in 2017. While we may cover roughly half of that from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs in order to keep the site going;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">if we don't raise sufficient funds, then we need to make corresponding cuts</span><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">. We'll be frank in that we've already had to cut our yearly trip to see Salem and Greenville from this year's budget, but we hope that will be an exception going forward.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"></span></div><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;" /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">To donate to the site, visit our&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/donate.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">DONATIONS PAGE</a></b><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">. All payments are secured through PayPal, but you <b>do not </b>need a PayPal account to contribute. All of the donations will go directly to our costs – while we reimburse ourselves for travel and IT costs, none of the owners have taken any actual profit distributions out of the site's tills over the last ten years (obviously, we’re not doing this to get rich!). Contributions of <u><b>any</b></u> size are appreciated!!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">We've also introduced a new way to support SoxProspects this year, and that's through <b><a href="https://www.patreon.com/soxprospects">PATREON</a></b>. Patreon allows you to support the site by donating a set amount per episode of the SoxProspects Podcast - $1, $2, or $5 per episode. We provide rewards for each donation level, which you can see at the link above. We've been very happy with the response so far, and we've set a new goal of <b>$100 per episode</b> as part of the&nbsp;Annual Drive. We've&nbsp;got some great ideas for some new guests (and we'll be bringing in some old friends too), and could use your&nbsp;support for the podcast as we work to make that happen!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">As always, we want to thank all of our readers and listeners for their support!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">Sincerely,</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">The SoxProspects.com Team</span></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/xISK99zdOmM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Chris Hatfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13995524464888490589noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/2017-annual-donation-drive-we-need-your.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-31951677045720435602017-08-11T07:30:00.000-04:002017-08-11T07:30:48.698-04:00Scouting Scratch: Joan Martinez, Juan Florentino and Jared Oliver<div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today’s Scouting Scratch focuses on a trio of relief pitchers promoted from Lowell to Greenville in the first week of August.</span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">-----</span></div></div><div class="p2"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/martinez-joan.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-22-2017/i-8Nf3gdt/1/02a80e54/XL/20170722_4942-XL.jpg" width="159" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The highest-ranked prospect in the SoxProspects rankings of the trio of pitchers we’ll cover today is Dominican right-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/martinez-joan.htm" target="_blank">Joan Martinez</a></b>, currently the 44th-ranked player on the list. In 17 1/3 innings with Lowell, Martinez had a 1.56 ERA and 0.92 WHIP and struck out 13 while walking four. Martinez carried that strong performance into his first week in the South Atlantic League, striking out seven while allowing just one batter to reach in five innings, that on a walk.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The 20-year old Martinez looks his listed 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, but still has some projection on his frame. Martinez throws from a three-quarters arm slot and has a very quick arm. His control is impressive considering that his delivery leaves a lot to be desired. It is a high-effort, hard-to-repeat delivery with a lot of moving parts, and he doesn’t utilize his lower half. Martinez starts in the stretch with his hands set at his waist. He utilizes a medium leg kick and has a long arm swing behind before landing on a stiff front leg and falling off to the first base side.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><a name='more'></a></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The velocity Martinez is able to generate with that delivery is impressive and has steadily increased since he signed. During the 2016 Fall Instructional League, Martinez sat 91-93 mph, and this spring he was up to 93-95 mph. Martinez now sits 95-97 mph and has reportedly touched higher. His fastball is straight and he is the early stages of developing command of the offering. At this point, he is more of a thrower than a pitcher.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Martinez compliments his fastball with a breaking ball and changeup. His breaking ball ranged all the way from 78-87 mph in a recent outing. The pitch is supposed to be a slider, but he lacks feel for it and both his release and the shape of the pitch are very inconsistent. The pitch was at its best at 82-83 mph, where it flashed average potential with some depth. On the lower end, the pitch rolled to the plate, and on the high end it was flat and lacked depth.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Martinez threw his changeup 90-93 mph with it looking like a fastball he took something off of. It did show some run on occasion, almost like a two-seam fastball, but the pitch lacks separation from his fastball and he doesn’t have feel for it.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Martinez has a strong arm and the results thus far have been encouraging. He didn’t sign until January 2016, when he was already 18, so this is only his second year in the organization. His delivery is off-putting to hitters and his arm is very quick, but he is raw and has a long way to go to reach his potential. Having signed for just a $5,000 bonus, he represents another potential scouting find for the Red Sox international amateur scouting program.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">-----</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/florentino-juan.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-June-24-2017/i-BPLFLtP/0/111d8093/XL/20170624_5685-XL.jpg" width="159" /></a></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Right-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/florentino-juan.htm" target="_blank">Juan Florentino</a></b> had served as the Spinners’ closer before his promotion last week. The 20-year old Dominican dominated in 18 2/3 innings with Lowell, putting up a 0.96 ERA and 0.86 WHIP while striking out 25 and walking only two.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The first thing that stands out with Florentino is his size—though he is listed at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, he is shorter. But even though he is small in stature, he has a quick arm and generates a lot of velocity for his frame. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot, starting on the first base side of the rubber. He gets his whole body into his delivery and keeps his arm behind his body when he comes forward.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Florentino’s fastball sits 93-95 mph and topped out at 96 mph in outings scouted. The pitch lacks plane, but he has done a good job keeping it down in the zone. His primary pitch is a breaking ball that looked more like a slider in one outing and more like a curve in another. Both times the pitch worked 80-82 mph and he showed some feel for it. The pitch was most effective when it showed long, 11-to-5 break. Florentino also showed a changeup at 88 mph in one outing scouted, but the pitch isn’t a major part of his arsenal at this point and is a work in progress.</span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">As another pitcher who signed late—he was 18 as well when he signed in 2015, making two short appearances before experiencing his first full DSL campaign last year, and his bonus was unreported—Florentino has already started to advance quickly through the system, as you might hope for a player his age. His height keeps him from generating ideal plane on his pitches, but he can combat that by continuing to keep the ball down and developing his secondaries further.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">-----</span></div></div><div class="p1"><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/oliver-jared.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-27-2017/i-R9c25t4/0/ab26af69/L/20170727_0274-L.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The lone American in the trio, right-hander <b><a href="http://soxprospects.com/players/oliver-jared.htm" target="_blank">Jared Oliver</a></b> was the organization’s 26th-round pick in 2016 as a senior out of Truett-McConnell University, a small NAIA school in Georgia, and signed for a $10,000 bonus. Already 24 years old, Oliver excelled against younger competition in the New York-Penn League, striking out 27 hitters in 17 innings and allowing only eight hits, good for a 2.12 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Given his age, Oliver doesn’t have much projection left in his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame. He is a good athlete and throws from a three-quarters arm slot from the third base side of the rubber. Oliver starts in the stretch and utilizes a medium leg kick and quick delivery. He has a short arm action and keeps the ball hidden behind his body until he releases it.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oliver’s fastball sits 91-94 mph and touches 96. He compliments the pitch with a power breaking ball at 80-82 mph. He has some feel for the offering and does a good job snapping it off with 11-to-5 break. The pitch flashes depth at its best and has average-to-better potential. It has shown the ability to miss bats against low-level hitters, but it remains to be seen how effective it would be against more advanced and age-appropriate competition. In Spring Training this year, Oliver showed a slider and a slower variation of a curveball, but the two seemed to have combined into this pitch.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having struggled with his control even in college, Oliver’s main development point will be throwing more strikes—he walked 8 in his 17 innings in Lowell, and has already had major control issues for the Drive, walking 7 in his 2 2/3 innings over two appearances.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo credit: Joan Martinez, Juan Florentino and Jared Oliver by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Ian Cundall</b><span style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp;is&nbsp;Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-style: italic;">.</span></div></div><div class="p1"><div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/H4a8nheTIUQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Ian Cundallhttps://plus.google.com/114862263727483328373noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-joan-martinez-juan.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-21285488499210171542017-08-11T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-11T07:00:00.424-04:00Cup of Coffee: Tubbs gets the win as Dalbec walks off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/tubbs-tucker.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="360" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-August-21-2016/i-crFfs8m/0/ec33c24e/M/20160821_1628-M.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/11 Cup of Coffee:</i> It was a relatively uneventful day on the farm until the 14th inning of Greemville's marathon contest. That's when first baseman <b>Tucker Tubbs</b> (<i>pictured</i>) took the mound for the fourth time this season. Tubbs fired three scoreless innings and earned the win when third baseman <b>Bobby Dalbec</b> blasted a walk-off home run. Elsewhere, <b>Dedgar Jimenez</b> and a pair of relievers combined on a shutout for Portland, <b>Brian Johnson</b> continues to work his way back for Pawtucket, and the DSL Sox had three last-at-bat comebacks in their own 13-inning walk-off win.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_colaaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Pawtucket Red Sox 3, Columbus Clippers (CLE) 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bryce Brentz</b> powered the PawSox to a lead it would not relinquish with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. Starter <b>Brian Johnson</b> allowed only one run in his four innings of work, but he struggled some with his control, issuing four walks. He struck out six batters and threw 76 pitches. <b>Marcus Walden</b> also struck out six while throwing three innings of scoreless relief. <b>Rusney Castillo</b> added a double and a walk.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_prtaax_ricaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Portland Sea Dogs 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) 0</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A trio of hurlers combined to scatter eight hits for the shutout. Starter <b>Dedgar Jimenez</b> was outstanding, giving up six hits and striking out five against just one walk in his six innings. <b>Taylor Grover</b> followed with 1 2/3 of scoreless relief, and <b>Ty Buttrey</b> fanned three of the four batters he faced to close out the win. <b>Josh Ockimey</b> doubled for his fifth extra-base hit in eight games since his promotion, while <b>Michael Chavis</b> and <b>Jeremy Barfield</b> continued their hot hitting with a double apiece.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_bcaafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Buies Creek Astros (HOU) 7, Salem Red Sox 6</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite a 12-hit effort, Salem fell in the 10th. <b>Matt Kent</b> drew the start allowing five runs on 10 hits in five innings of work. <b>Jose Sermo</b> paced the offense, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI. <b>Tate Matheny</b> notched his sixth triple of the year as part of a two-hit night, while <b>Chris Madera</b> and <b>Tyler Spoon</b> also had two hits each.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_romafx_capafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 3, Rome Braves (ATL) 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now with 13 1/3 scoreless innings of work, <b>Tucker Tubbs</b> got his first professional win. Tubbs struck out two batters while holding onto a 2-2 tie, giving up just two hits in his three innings of work. Before making his way to the mound, Tubbs played the first 13 innings of the game at first base. In the third inning, he walked and came around to score Greenville's first run of the game. The following inning, he singled to plate <b>Jerry Downs</b> to put the Drive up 2-0. So Tubbs not only got the win, he was directly responsible for all of this team's run scoring before he was called on to pitch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several hours before Tubbs took the mound, 18-year-old <b>Bryan Mata</b> turned in another solid outing. Mata had gone through five scoreless before Rome reached him for two in the sixth. He struck out six, walked two, and allowed six hits. In the interim, between Mata and Tubbs, <b>Juan Florentino</b>&nbsp;and <b>Jared Oliver</b> combined for 7 1/3 scoreless innings of work. Florentino, making his third appearance since a late-July promotion from Lowell, struck out three, scattered four hits, and didn't issue a walk in 3 1/3. Oliver then punched out six, walked one, and gave up just two hits in his four innings of work. The 10 1/3 innings of shutout work by the pen set the stage for <b>Bobby Dalbec</b>, whose eighth homer of the season sent the Drive home winners.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_trcasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Tri-City Valley Cats (HOU) 8, Lowell Spinners 5</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a tough matchup for the Spinners, as Tri-City called on 15th-overall pick J.B. Bukauskas to make his New York-Penn League debut. They managed a run off of the former UNC ace and four more against the Valley Cat bullpen, but it was not enough on Thursday night. <b>Yorvin Pantoja</b> allowed four runs in 3 1/3 to take the loss. <b>Marino Campana</b> blasted his second home run of the season to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_rsxrok_rayrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Rays 3, GCL Red Sox 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a tough loss in the Gulf Coast League, as the Sox led the entire way until the Rays scored a pair in the bottom of the ninth to walk off with the win. <b>Oddanier Mosqueda</b> cruised through four no-hit innings before finally surrendering his first base hit with one out in the fifth. That baserunner came around to score off of <b>Ritzi Mendoza</b>, but Mendoza shut the Rays down for the next 3 2/3. He struck out five and walked only one. The Sox managed only two hits on the day, but one was a second-inning, two-run homer off the bat of <b>Tyler Dearden</b>. It was the first professional home run for Dearden, Boston's 29th round pick in June.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_10_dryrok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 7, DSL Royals 6</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sox prevailed in a wild, back-and-forth contest in which they tied the game in the ninth and 12th innings. They surrendered a run again in the top of the 13th, but tied the game on an <b>Ivan Houellemont</b> single and won when <b>Freiberg Marin</b> scored on the rare walk-off balk. Houellemont and Marin led the charge throughout for the Sox lineup, with both players registering three hits and a walk. Starter <b>Rafael Gomez</b> allowed a run in five innings of work, and <b>Antonio Police</b> got credit for the win after allowing the one (unearned) run in the 13th.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Day:</b> In 10 2/3 innings, <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/tubbs-tucker.htm" target="_blank">Tucker Tubbs</a></b> has a 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts against just one walk, and a WHIP of 0.656. Those statistics would be fantastic for an actual pitcher, but Tubbs is a first baseman who didn't even pitch in college. Before he came in to pitch, Tubbs had scored one of Greenville's two runs and driven in the other one.<br /><br /><i>Photo Credit: Tucker Tubbs by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/2Ascems4xOU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>James Dunnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422452981892252778noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-tubbs-gets-win-as-dalbec.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-12225664737633301662017-08-10T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-10T08:12:48.499-04:00Cup of Coffee: Chavis goes deep again, Haley strikes out 10<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/haley-justin.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" height="200" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Pawtucket-Red-Sox/PawSox-July-31-2016/i-4TJDMLX/0/e0d52639/XL/20160731_3873-XL.jpg" width="159" /></a></div><i>8/10 Cup of Coffee: </i><b>Michael Chavis</b> launched his 29th home run of the season, and <b>Justin Haley </b>set a career-high with 10 strikeouts for the PawSox. <b>Sam Travis </b>and <b>Bobby Poyner </b>continued their good runs, while <b>Blake Swihart </b>continues to struggle on his rehab assignment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_chraaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_chraaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>Pawtucket Red Sox 6,&nbsp;</b><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Charlotte Knights (CWS) 5</b></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A late rally from the Knights fell short as the PawSox squeaked by with a victory. The offense was led by&nbsp;<b>Brian Bogusevic</b>, who went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run. <b>Sam Travis </b>also went 2 for 4 but was caught stealing for the second time this season. Travis is now hitting .321 over his last 15 games, though he only has one extra-base hit over that span. <b>Deven Marrero </b>continued to struggle, going 0 for 3 with a strikeout, and he's now hitting .167 since being sent down to Pawtucket.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Justin Haley </b>struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. <i>SoxProspects.com </i>Director of Scouting Ian Cundall was in attendance, and he had Haley topping out at 93 with his fastball, while his changeup was his best secondary pitch. In 19 2/3 innings since rejoining the Red Sox system, Haley has allowed only five runs and struck out 16.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_prtaax_ricaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_prtaax_ricaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>Portland Sea Dogs 9,&nbsp;</b><b>Richmond Flying Squirrels (SFG) 4</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another home run for <b>Michael Chavis </b>lifted the Sea Dogs to victory. The home run was the 29th of the season for Chavis, which puts him in a tie for second in minor league baseball. He now has five home runs in his last 10 games, and <b>Bryce Brentz </b>is the only player in the system who is close to his home run total. The rest of the middle of the order also did a lot of damage, as&nbsp;<b>Jeremy Barfield </b>went 3 for 5 with a double,&nbsp;<b>Josh Ockimey</b> went 2 for 4 with a walk, and&nbsp;Mike Olt went 2 for 5 with two RBI.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The offense was enough to support&nbsp;<b>Teddy Stankiewicz</b>, who allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings.&nbsp;<b>Bobby Poyner </b>threw another scoreless inning, and he has not allowed an earned run since June 18. He has 23 strikeouts and five walks over those 18 2/3 innings, and he has surrendered only six hits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_bcaafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Buies Creek Astros (HOU), Salem Red Sox 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A solid rebound start from&nbsp;<b>Roniel Raudes</b> was not enough for Salem. Raudes struck out five and allowed two runs over five innings after allowing six runs last time out.&nbsp;<b>Austin Glorius</b> followed with three innings of hitless relief, but the Astros got to&nbsp;<b>Matthew Gorst</b> for a run in the ninth to win it.&nbsp;<b>Jordan Betts </b>led the offense, going 2 for 4 with a solo home run, and&nbsp;<b>Conrad Gregor</b> went 2 for 2 with two walks.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_capafx_kanafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 6, Kannapolis Intimidators (CWS) 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A five-run first inning was more than enough for the Drive.&nbsp;<b>Santiago Espinal </b>went 2 for 4 with a triple and scored two runs, and <b>Brett Netzer</b>'s only hit in four at-bats was an RBI double. <b>Tyler Hill </b>continued to show off his legs, going 1 for 3 with two walks and three steals.&nbsp;<b>Hildemaro Requena </b>continued to roll, striking out three over six innings of one-run ball, and&nbsp;<b>Algenis Martinez</b> picked up the save with three scoreless innings.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_trcasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Tri-City ValleyCats (HOU) 7, Lowell Spinners 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Spinners only managed four hits, and their pitching also struggled.&nbsp;<b>Nick Duron</b> took the loss after allowing four runs over four innings, and&nbsp;<b>Durin O'Linger</b> allowed one run over his 3 1/3 innings. The only batter to reach base more than once was&nbsp;<b>Juan Barriento</b>, who went 1 for 3 with a walk.&nbsp;Nicholos Hamilton had a single and a steal in his only at-at, but he was pulled after being doubled off second base in the third innings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_rayrok_rsxrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Rays (TB) 4, GCL Red Sox 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Red Sox left 11 men on base in their loss to the Rays.&nbsp;<b>Everlouis Lozada</b> went 4 for 4 with a triple, but nobody was able to drive him in.&nbsp;<b>Ramfis Berroa</b> went 2 for 4 with an outfield assist, and <b>Blake Swihart </b>went 0 for 3 with a strikeout as the catcher. This was his first time catching since going on the disabled list in the beginning of July. On the mound&nbsp;<b>Angel Padron</b>&nbsp;took the loss after he allowed three runs on eight hits over six innings.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_drsrok_dryrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_09_drsrok_dryrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 1, DSL Royals (KC) 0</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An RBI triple from&nbsp;<b>Rafael Rincones </b>in the top of the ninth proved to be the difference as the Red Sox pitching shut down the Royals.&nbsp;<b>Alexander Montero</b> started and tossed five shutout innings to extend his scoreless streak to 10 innings to start his career.&nbsp;<b>Carlos Cortes</b> picked up the win after allowing two hits and a walk over three innings, and&nbsp;<b>Alberto Franco</b> earned the save with a scoreless ninth. Other than Rincones,&nbsp;<b>Keibert Petit</b> had the only other notable performance offensively, going 1 for 2 with two walks while scoring the go-ahead run.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Night: </b>While the two home runs he allowed damaged his overall line, setting a career-high with 10 strikeouts is enough to earn <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/haley-justin.htm" target="_blank">Justin Haley</a> </b>the honors.&nbsp;Haley has pitched well since being returned from the Minnesota Twins, who selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. Haley threw 18 innings for the Twins and allowed 12 runs on 22 hits. For now Haley has taken <b>Kyle Kendrick</b>’s spot in the Pawtucket rotation, and he provides more pitching depth down in Triple-A.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Justin Haley by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /><i><br /></i></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/-5Z6qVrRtA0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jim Crowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07242721829102248162noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-chavis-goes-deep-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-33664647810436544182017-08-09T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-09T07:00:24.710-04:00Cup of Coffee: McAvoy, Beeks lead perfect night for Sox system<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/mcavoy-kevin.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="614" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MquF0BlLKIE/WYp4dIKzk6I/AAAAAAAABBU/QfqhPxa_318PMnRfUMp7LJklRCasyPYrQCLcBGAs/s200/mcavoy.jpg" width="159" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/9 Cup of Coffee: </i>It was a perfect night for the Red Sox affiliates with wins from the majors down through the GCL. Much of the success came from solid pitching performances, as <b>Jalen Beeks</b>&nbsp;bounced back for Pawtucket and <b>Kevin McAvoy</b>&nbsp;(<i>pictured</i>) hurled a gem for Portland. Meanwhile, <b>Joran Betts</b>&nbsp;and <b>Jerry Downs</b>&nbsp;came up with clutch hits for Salem and Greenville, respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_08_chraaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Pawtucket Red Sox 9, &nbsp;Charlotte Knights (CWS) 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The PawSox slugged their way to the win with 13 hits, including six extra-base knocks. <b>Bryce Brentz</b>&nbsp;drove in his 70th and 71st runs of the season in a 2-for-4 performance with a pair of runs scored. <b>Matt Dominguez</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 5 with three RBI. <b>Brian Bogusevic</b>&nbsp;set the table out of the two-hole, going 3 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. <b>Jalen Beeks</b>&nbsp;got back into the win column with a quality start. He gave up just one run on three hits in six innings of work while striking out six and walking just one. A rehabbing <b>Carson Smith</b>&nbsp;did not allow a hit in his one inning of work, walking one and striking out one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_08_prtaax_ricaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Portland Sea Dogs 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) 0</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Michael Chavis</b>&nbsp;clocked his 11th Double-A home run and his 28th overall of the season, going 1 for 4 in the shutout win. <b>Kevin McAvoy </b>hurled an absolute gem, allowing just two hits in eight shutout innings of work. He struck out seven, walked two and picked off a runner at first. <b>Danny Mars</b>&nbsp;added two RBI in a 1-for-4 performance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_08_bcaafa_salafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Salem Red Sox 2, Buies Creek Astros (HOU) 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jordan Betts</b>&nbsp;came up big with a clutch RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to put Salem ahead for good in a tight win. The third baseman went 2 for 4 on the game. <b>Jose Sermo</b>&nbsp;drove in Salem's other run in the bottom of the first. <b>Kyle Hart</b>&nbsp;was solid in five innings of work, giving up just one run on six hits while walking three and striking out five. <b>Adam Lau</b>&nbsp;was credited with the win, throwing two no-hit innings of relief. He did walk three batters, but managed to escape an eighth inning jam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_08_capafx_kanafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 5, Kannapolis Intimidators (CWS) 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A big sixth inning keyed the comeback for Greenville, as a pair of runs scored on wild pitches and a two-run home run from <b>Jerry Downs</b>&nbsp;put the Drive up for good. The clutch homer was Downs' first of the season.<b>&nbsp;Jagger Rusconi </b>went 2 for 4 with a run driven in. <b>Jhonathan Diaz</b>&nbsp;picked up his fifth win, giving up three runs in five innings of work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_08_trcasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Lowell Spinners 4, Tri-City Valley Cats (HOU) 0</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After fourth-round draft pick <b>Jake Thompson </b>got a shutout inning of work in with two strikeouts, <b>Dakota Smith</b>&nbsp;pitched six dominant innings of relief for the Spinners. The 24-year-old righty did not allow a run, giving up just three hits while walking one and striking out three. <b>Marino Campana</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_08_rsxrok_rayrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Red Sox 5, GCL Rays (TB) 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The GCL Sox held off a late Rays rally to complete the system sweep for Tuesday. <b>Pedro Castellanos</b>&nbsp;carried the offense, going 3 for 4 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI. <b>Edilson Batista</b>&nbsp;picked up the win with five shutout innings of work. He allowed just two hits and did not walk or strike anyone out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>DSL Red Sox vs. DSL Rays1 (TB) (PPD.)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rain washed out Tuesday's DSL matchup against the Rays. No makeup date has been announced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Night: </b>Giving up just a pair of hits in eight stellar innings, <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/mcavoy-kevin.htm" target="_blank">Kevin McAvoy</a></b>&nbsp;gets the nod. In what has been an up and down season for the 24-year-old Syracuse native, the win was McAvoy's longest outing of the season. McAvoy had been on a nice run before landing on the disabled list in mid-July. The seven strikeouts also tied a season-high for the righty.</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/QSR_ghD02z4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Eric Gendronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15570644352309424168noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-mcavoy-beeks-lead-perfect.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-56253206892575403972017-08-08T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-08T08:52:39.376-04:00Cup of Coffee: Velazquez, Groome post zeroes on mound<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/velazquez-hector.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="360" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Pawtucket-Red-Sox/PawSox-April-30-2017/i-tdzMnGt/0/698c0e61/M/20170430_6471-M.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/8 Cup of Coffee:</i> It was a day of dominant pitching down on the farm, as four starters had outings of at least five innings without allowing an earned run. Usual suspects <b>Hector Velazquez</b> (<i>pictured</i>) and <b>Jay Groome</b> were masterful for Pawtucket and Greenville, respectively, while <b>Eduard Bazardo</b> and <b>Rafael Gomez</b> turned in gems in the GCL and DSL.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_07_chraaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Pawtucket Red Sox 7, Charlotte Knights (CWS) 0</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his last start, <b>Hector Velazquez</b> saw his ERA rise above 2.00 for the first time since mid-April. He rectified that situation on Monday night, firing five scoreless innings to lower his mark back to 1.93. Velazquez surrendered only two hits while striking out a season-high nine batters. <b>Edgar Olmos</b> followed and didn't miss a beat, giving up just one hit in his four shutout innings of relief. <b>Bryce Brentz</b> went deep for the 25th time this season with a three-run shot off of veteran Chris Volstad.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_07_capafx_kanafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 6, Kannapolis Intimidators (CWS) 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a season of ups and downs, 2016 first-round pick <b>Jay Groome</b> seems to be settling into a groove. Groome scattered three hits across five innings, striking out six and walking two. He now has 14 strikeouts and only four hits in 11 innings in two August appearances. <b>Robby Sexton</b> punched out four in two innings of shutout relief for the Drive. <b>Roldani Baldwin</b> continues to be a doubles machine, ripping his 31st of the season and fifth in his last six games. <b>Brett Netzer</b> broke out of a mini 0-for-10 skid with a 2-for-5 night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Lowell Spinners at Brooklyn Cyclones, PPD rain</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the second straight cycle, <b>Jake Thompson</b> had his start postponed by rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader when the Spinners return to Brooklyn on August 31.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_07_rayrok_rsxrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Red Sox 6, GCL Rays 5 (Game 1)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the first game of their doubleheader, <b>Blake Swihart</b> made his first ever professional appearance at first base. The 25-year-old, the top prospect in the system back in 2015, went 1 for 2 with a double and a pair of runs scored. <b>Andre Colon</b>, the Sox 11th-round pick in the June draft, was 2 for 3 with a double and three RBI. <b>Pedro Castellanos</b> also doubled as part of a two-hit day. Starter <b>Juan Perez </b>got the win, allowing two runs on three hits in five innings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_07_rayrok_rsxrok_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Red Sox 1, GCL Rays&nbsp;<span id="goog_1048523590"></span><span id="goog_1048523591"></span>0 (Game 2)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Eduard Bazardo</b> rolled in a pitchers duel that took only an hour and 25 minutes to play seven innings. Bazardo gave up just two hits in six innings of work, striking out three against just two walks. <b>Kory Behenna</b> struck out a pair in a scoreless seventh to pick up his first professional save. The Sox won despite notching only one hit, a first inning single by <b>Everlouis Lozada</b>. The game was a scoreless tie until a pair of walks, an error and a ground out scored <b>Cole Brannen</b> with what proved to be the winning run.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_07_21_drsrok_ddrrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 3, DSL Rays1 1 (Game 1</a>)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Rafael Gomez</b> joined the parade of starters who dominated on Monday. The 19-year-old out of Venezuela gave up an unearned run and three hits in six innings, striking out eight without issuing a walk. <b>Yasel Santana</b> and <b>Luis Rivero</b> kept things knotted up by combining for five shutout innings of relief. The new extra-innings rule played to the Sox benefit, as <b>Willis Figueroa</b> started the 11th inning on second base, advanced to third on a base hit, and was in position to score on a wild pitch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_07_drsrok_ddrrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Red Sox 9, DSL Red Sox 6 (Game 2)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In contrast to the pitching clinic in game one, the Sox churned out 14 hits to complete the sweep. <b>Jonathan Diaz</b> had two doubles and drove in a pair of runs. <b>Keibert Petit</b> also doubled as part of a two-hit day, and <b>Ivan Houellemont</b> had three hits. Starter <b>Rayniel Moreno</b> allowed four runs on seven hits in his four innings of work.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Day:</b> As many as a half-dozen pitchers from Monday's action made cases for themselves, but the nod goes to Pawtucket starter <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/velazquez-hector.htm" target="_blank">Hector Velazquez</a></b>. The right-hander, signed out of the Mexican League last winter, has been a revelation. His ERA sits at 1.93 through 84 innings at the Triple-A level, and his nine-strikeout evening gives him 67 against only 19 walks.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Hector Velazquez by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/JxhKv53jMxo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>James Dunnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422452981892252778noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-velazquez-groome-post.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-11495142512673195982017-08-07T17:00:00.000-04:002017-08-07T17:43:19.722-04:00Minor Notes: Devers shining in first major league opportunity<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/devers-rafael.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Pawtucket-Red-Sox/PawSox-July-23-2017/i-mscWTPK/0/90fe3a12/X2/20170723_6037-X2.jpg" width="180" /></a>Here are Monday's minor league notes:</div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">In Tuesday's edition of the <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-tanner-houck.html">Scouting Scratch</a>, <i>SoxProspects.com </i>Director of Scouting Ian Cundall focused on first-round selection <b>Tanner Houck</b>. Cundall observed Houck's first three professional starts in Lowell and the right-hander holds a 3.48 ERA with 12 strikeouts and 3 walks in 10 1/3 innings over four starts.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Top prospect <b>Rafael Devers </b>(<i>pictured</i>) is making the most of his first big league opportunity and settling in as a force in the Red Sox lineup. <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/we-need-to-talk-about-rafael-devers/">Dave Cameron of FanGraphs</a> breaks down Devers' success and how his power to all fields is paying off in Fenway Park.&nbsp;</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/53088/rafael-devers-is-giving-the-red-sox-the-production-yoan-moncada-couldnt">Scott Lauber of <i>ESPN </i></a>compared Devers to former top Red Sox prospect <b>Yoan Moncada</b>, who Boston traded to Chicago in December. While Moncada struggled in his first taste of the majors last season, striking out 12 times in 19 at bats, Devers has taken flight. In his first 11 games, Devers is slashing .349/.429/.605 with three home runs.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Marly Rivera of <i>ESPN </i>conducted <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20256476/rookie-rafael-devers-settles-third-base-boston-red-sox">a fascinating interview</a> with Devers, who spoke about his childhood and his ascent to the major leagues.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2017/08/03/sources-ownership-ordered-dombrowski-keep-top-prospects-deadline-deals/">Sean McAdam at the new <i>Boston Sports Journal</i></a> (subscription required) reported that Red Sox management forbade team president Dave Dombrowski from dealing top prospects&nbsp;at the trade deadline. Dombrowski focused instead on smaller moves such as acquiring utility man <b>Eduardo Nunez </b>from San Francisco and reliever <b>Addison Reed </b>from the Mets.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/sports/mcgair-pawsox-slugger-bryce-brentz-could-definitely-help-red-sox/article_7fe62582-7976-11e7-826f-eb6f28f9476f.html">Brendan McGair of the </a><i><a href="http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/sports/mcgair-pawsox-slugger-bryce-brentz-could-definitely-help-red-sox/article_7fe62582-7976-11e7-826f-eb6f28f9476f.html">Pawtucket Times</a> </i>suggests that the Red Sox should promote power-hitting outfielder <b>Bryce Brentz </b>to the majors. Now 28 years old, Brentz finally appears to have put it all together in Pawtucket and has a .272/.342/.536 line with 24 home runs in 94 games.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">First baseman <b>Josh Ockimey </b>was promoted to Portland last week and is settling in at the level, smashing his <a href="http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/08/boston_red_sox_power-hitting_p.html">first Double-A home run</a> on Monday. Ockimey slashed .275/.388/.438 in 100 games in Salem and is hitting .235/.409/.706 with two home runs since the promotion.&nbsp;</li></ul><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Players of the Week 7/31-8/6</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/nunez-jhon.htm">Jhon Nunez</a>, C, Salem Red Sox&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4 G, 14 AB, 7 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, 6 RBI, 4 K, .500/.467/.929</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/groome-jay.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-June-24-2017/i-Dm3JhNv/0/11a94ca7/X2/20170624_4550-X2.jpg" width="180" /></a>Nunez continued his strong season with a dominant week at the plate. In 42 games this season, the catcher has a .302/.342/.417 line with two home runs. The 22-year-old Nunez shows little home run power but his hit tool has some potential as a switch-hitter. His defense is impressive and he has a strong arm, which could give him a future in the major leagues.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/groome-jay.htm">Jay Groome</a>, LHP, Greenville Drive</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 GS, 6 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.33 WHIP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Groome (<i>pictured</i>) turned in a dominant start on Wednesday, throwing six shutout innings and allowing just a hit and a walk while fanning eight. He was also named the South Atlantic League's Pitcher of the Week for the effort. Groome's first full season in the Red Sox organization hasn't gone smoothly as he's missed time due to injuries and his results on the mound have been inconsistent. He has pitched to a 6.10 ERA in 38 1/3 innings between Lowell and Greenville. However, he has showcased his dominant stuff in a few starts and remains Boston's top pitching prospect.<br /><br /><i>Photo Credit: Rafael Devers and Jason Groome by Kelly O'Connor</i></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/XWXj3VcToy4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Conor Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14224342221383860505noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/minor-notes-devers-shining-in-first.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-80026895301495451112017-08-07T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-07T07:00:15.649-04:00Cup of Coffee: Houck, Reyes combine to spin gem <a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/reyes-denyi.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-27-2017/i-zdVshNh/0/53e7eede/X2/20170727_8996-X2.jpg" width="180" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/7 Cup of Coffee:</i> Some impressive pitching performances in the lower minors highlighted the day in the Red Sox farm system.&nbsp;<b>Logan Boyd </b>threw six shutout innings in a win for Salem while <b>Darwinzon Hernandez</b>'s five strong innings weren't enough for Greenville. <b>Tanner Houck </b>and <b>Denyi Reyes </b>(<i>pictured</i>) teamed up for a brilliant pitching performance for Lowell. Unfortunately, the results weren't as great in Portland and Pawtucket as lefties <b>Henry Owens </b>and <b>Roenis Elias </b>had some trouble.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_06_pawaaa_swbaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t533">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 7, Pawtucket Red Sox 5</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his third start since returning to Pawtucket, <b>Roenis Elias </b>limped through 5 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits. <b>Austin Maddox </b>struggled with command, allowing a run and walking three in 1 1/3 innings. <b>Robby Scott </b>and <b>Noe Ramirez </b>combined for 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Third baseman <b>Matt Dominguez </b>had a great game, going 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. <b>Tzu-Wei Lin </b>was 2 for 5 with a double.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_06_bowaax_prtaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t546">Portland Sea Dogs 5, Bowie Baysox (BAL) 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sea Dogs edged Bowie in a tight game on Sunday, literally walking off when <b>Deiner Lopez </b>drew a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth. The Sea Dogs got home runs from three sources with <b>Mike Olt</b>, <b>Jeremy Barfield</b>, and <b>Josh Tobias </b>going yard. Catcher <b>Jordan Procyshen </b>went 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored. <b>Henry Owens </b>allowed three runs in five innings of work, striking out seven and walking six.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_06_salafa_myrafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t414">Salem Red Sox 10, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (CHC) 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Salem bats impressed on Sunday afternoon, scoring ten runs on twelve hits. They were led by first baseman <b>Conrad Gregor</b>, who went 2 for 3 with a double, two walks, three runs, and two RBI. <b>Chris Madera </b>went 2 for 5 and recorded a triple and walk from the top of the lineup. Starting pitcher <b>Logan Boyd </b>was lights out, throwing six scoreless innings with four strikeouts. <b>Pat Goetze </b>tossed two scoreless frames in relief, fanning three and allowing a hit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_06_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t428">Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 2, Greenville Drive 1</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Drive lost a pitching duel on Sunday despite a fine performance from <b>Darwinzon Hernandez. </b>The 16th-ranked prospect threw five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks, striking out five. <b>Algenis Martinez </b>was excellent in relief, tossing three shutout innings and striking out three. Shortstop <b>Santiago Espinal </b>had the lineup's standout performance, going 3 for 4 with a double.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_06_lowasx_broasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t558">Lowell Spinners 4, Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First-rounder <b>Tanner Houck </b>threw three innings on Sunday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out three. <b>Denyi Reyes </b>was dominant in a piggyback role, throwing six scoreless innings on five hits while striking out nine. Shortstop <b>Frankie Rios </b>went 2 for 4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI. <b>Yoan Aybar </b>raised his line to .266/.282/.411 with a 2-for-4 game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Day: </b>Though he was pitching in relief, <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/reyes-denyi.htm">Denyi Reyes</a> </b>stole the show from Houck in Lowell. Reyes entered the game in the fourth and pitched the rest of the game, going six shutout innings with five hits, no walks, and nine strikeouts. Reyes has pitched out of the bullpen 11 times in Lowell this season and owns a 1.83 ERA with 32 strikeouts and six walks in 39 1/3 innings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Denyi Reyes by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/QNQeHTc_oiE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Conor Duffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14224342221383860505noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-houck-reyes-combine-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-64471015651106346062017-08-06T10:49:00.000-04:002017-08-07T03:59:28.466-04:00Cup of Coffee: Mars attacks, affiliates stumble<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/mars-danny.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Portland-Sea-Dogs/Portland-Sea-Dogs-July-16-2017/i-ks2njWv/0/138b1419/L/20170715_2535-L.jpg" width="180" /></a>8/6 Cup of Coffee: It was a tough day down on the farm, as the Spinners were the only affiliate to come away with a win. <b>Brian Johnson </b>was solid in his start, <b>Danny Mars </b>(<i>pictured</i>) was the bright spot offensively with four hits, and <b>Carson Smith </b>started his rehab assignment.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_pawaaa_swbaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY) 3, Pawtucket Red Sox 1</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite taking the lead early, Pawtucket surrendered runs in three straight innings to hand the RailRiders the win. <b>Brian Johnson</b>&nbsp;threw five strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out one. <b>Chandler</b>&nbsp;<b>Shepherd</b>&nbsp;did not fare as well out of the bullpen, notching his fourth loss of the season as he surrendered two runs in 1 2/3 innings. There was little to celebrate on offense, as the PawSox managed only four hits, all of them singles, off the bats of <b>Sam Travis</b>, <b>Tzu-Wei Lin</b>, <b>Bryce Brentz</b>, and <b>Heiker Meneses</b>.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_bowaax_prtaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>Bowie Baysox (BAL) 13, Portland Sea Dogs 7</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saturday's game mercifully ended early, getting called off in the top of the ninth inning due to rain. Portland's pitching fell apart early, as <b>Carson Smith</b>, who was making a rehab appearance, managed to record just one out while allowing two runs on three walks and a pair of sacrifice flies. <b>Trey Ball</b>&nbsp;was similarly shaky out of the bullpen as he was tagged for six runs on 12 hits and three walks in just four innings of work.<b>&nbsp;Danny Mars </b>was the offensive standout, going 4 for 5 while launching his sixth home run of the year. <b>Cole Sturgeon </b>and <b>Josh Ockimey </b>also homered, marking Ockimey's second round-tripper in four games for Portland. <b>Mike Olt</b>&nbsp;and <b>Deiner Lopez</b>&nbsp;were the only Sea&nbsp;Dogs who were held hitless.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_salafa_myrafa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>Myrtle Beach Pelicans (CHC) 4, Salem Red Sox 3</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The offense failed to back up a decent effort from <b>Matthew Kent</b>, as the Red Sox fell to the Pelicans. Kent went seven innings, surrendering all four Pelican runs on eight hits, three of which were home runs, though he did punch out seven batters. <b>Matthew Gorst </b>pitched a scoreless ninth. <b>Mike Meyers</b>&nbsp;went 2 for 3 with a double.&nbsp;<b>Jordan Betts </b>and <b>Austin Rei</b>&nbsp;each were 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b><br /></b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 12, Greenville Drive 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bryan Mata</b>&nbsp;was saddled with the loss, even though the RiverDogs did most of their damage off of his replacement, <b>Jared Oliver</b>. Mata went four innings and gave up four runs on four hits and two walks. Oliver, meanwhile, was knocked around for six runs on two hits and five walks in just one inning of work. After <b>Juan Florentino</b>&nbsp;allowed two more runs in three innings, first baseman <b>Tucker Tubbs</b>&nbsp;threw the team's lone scoreless inning. <b>Isaias Lucena </b>went 3 for 4, and both <b>Jerry Downs</b>&nbsp;and <b>Bobby Dalbec</b>&nbsp;recorded doubles as part of 1-for-3 efforts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_lowasx_broasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>Lowell Spinners 3, Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) 2</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Enmanuel De Jesus</b>&nbsp;notched his third win of the season with 5 2/3 innings of two-run baseball. De Jesus allowed seven hits, walked two, and struck out four. <b>Juan Barriento&nbsp;</b>and <b>Zach Sterry </b>combined for four of the Spinners seven hits, each going 2 for 4. <b>Frankie Rios</b>&nbsp;managed only one hit but walked three times, and <b>Nicholos Hamilton</b>, despite being held hitless, worked two walks in the game.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_rsxrok_twirok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b><br /></b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_rsxrok_twirok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank"><b>GCL Twins 12, GCL Red Sox 4</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A rough day on the mound and a modest showing at the plate made for a lopsided loss for the GCL Red Sox. Three pitchers combined to give up 12 runs in six innings, with the lone bright spot coming out of the pen in the form of two shutout innings and four strikeouts from <b>Tanner Raiburn</b>. <b>Pedro Castellanos, Everlouis Lozada, </b>and<b> David Durden </b>each had two hits, and Castellanos scored two runs. <b>Blake Swihart</b> continued his rehab assignment and went 0 for 5.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_05_dmlrok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Marlins 6, DSL Red Sox 0</a></b><br /><b>Willis Figueroa</b>&nbsp;had two hits to raise his average to .367, but the bats were otherwise quiet, as the team collected four hits total in the shutout loss. <b>Jeison Pena </b>provided relief out of the pen by eating up 3 1/3 innings without allowing a run, and <b>Alberto Franco </b>struck out two in his scoreless inning of work.<br /><br />-----<br /><br /><b>Player of the Night: </b>In a day of losses, <a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/mars-danny.htm" target="_blank"><b>Danny Mars</b></a> did all he could by collecting four hits including a home run. The big day raises his average to .313 on the year. The 23-year-old left fielder performed well as the leadoff hitter for Portland on Saturday, and his high average combined with a solid .360 OBP may give him more opportunities to hit atop a powerful Sea Dogs lineup.<br /><br /><i>Photo credit: Danny Mars by Kelly O'Connor</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Ian Dalley contributed to this post</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/y5GIAue9eCg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Harry Burnhamhttps://plus.google.com/114009815759678931557noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-mars-attacks-affiliates.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-67095366454732791102017-08-05T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-05T07:00:07.537-04:00Cup of Coffee: Ockimey homers, Haley returns <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="nrabasco@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="nrabasco@gmail.com" name="me"><span style="color: #777777;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="qQVYZb"></div><div class="utdU2e"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L43HmNYEsBo/WYVNIs1VhBI/AAAAAAAAPVM/zxQGO94WA-4bVeUF27qPgSLgf6I9Y7DOACLcBGAs/s1600/20170225_2722-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L43HmNYEsBo/WYVNIs1VhBI/AAAAAAAAPVM/zxQGO94WA-4bVeUF27qPgSLgf6I9Y7DOACLcBGAs/s200/20170225_2722-L.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div class="tx78Ic" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><i>8/5 Cup of Coffee</i>: <b>Justin Haley</b> returned to the PawSox and spun a gem despite a loss to Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. <b>Josh Ockimey</b> (<i>pictured</i>) hit his first home run with Portland, and Greenville's bullpen was perfect to nail down a win.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="tx78Ic" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="tx78Ic" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="a3s aXjCH m15db0a6b6db9f0a4" id=":ld"><div dir="auto"><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_pawaaa_swbaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t533" target="_blank">Scranton-Wilkes/Barre RailRiders (NYY) 3, Pawtucket Red Sox 1</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b>Justin Haley</b> made his return to the PawSox after being returned from the Twins and he did not disappoint. The righty tossed seven innings and allowed just one run while striking out three and walking none. However, <b>Williams Jerez</b> allowed two runs in the eighth to take the loss. <b>Sam Travis</b> went 3 for 4 with three singles and <b>Rusney Castillo</b> blasted his 13th home run of the year as part of a 2-for-4 showing.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><b></b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&amp;sid=t546&amp;gid=2017_08_04_bowaax_prtaax_1&amp;mode=box&amp;c_id=t546" target="_blank"></a><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&amp;sid=t546&amp;gid=2017_08_04_bowaax_prtaax_1&amp;mode=box&amp;c_id=t546" target="_blank">Portland Sea Dogs 8, Bowie Baysox (BAL) 5</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b>Josh Ockimey</b> had a big night, belting his first home run with the Sea Dogs. He also added his second double. <b>Jordan Procyshen</b> also homered, and <b>Joseph Monge</b> had two hits and two RBI. <b>Dedgar Jimenez</b> started and did not pitch that well, allowing four runs on ten hits in six innings. <b>Jake Cosart</b> got the win with three strikeouts in two innings and <b>Bobby Poyner</b> picked up his sixth save with a scoreless ninth.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t414" target="_blank">Salem Red Sox 11, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (CHC) 6</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1">The bats were hot in game one, as a five-run eighth inning allowed Salem to pull away. <b>Jhon Nunez</b> went 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI, while <b>Conrad Gregor</b> also had three hits and three driven in. <b>Jeremy Rivera</b> and <b>Jose Sermo</b> each had two hits as well. <b>Roniel Raudes</b> struggled, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits in just 4 1/3 innings. <b>Adam Lau</b> picked up the win in relief with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_salafa_myrafa_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb" target="_blank">Myrtle Beach Pelicans (CHC) 4, Salem Red Sox 1</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1">The offense went silent in game two with just four hits. <b>Tate Matheny</b> roped a double and <b>Conrad Gregor</b> reached twice with a single and a walk. <b>Kyle Hart</b> and <b>Austin Glorius</b> allowed two earned runs in three innings each, as both allowed one home run and struck out two.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><b></b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t428" target="_blank"></a><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t428" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 3, Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 2</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1">After <b>Ryan Scott</b> threw out a runner at home plate in the fifth inning, Drive pitchers retired the final 12 in a row to hold on for the win. <b>Hildemaro Requena</b> picked up the win after allowing two runs in five innings, then <b>Joan Martinez</b> and <b>Hunter Smith</b> combined for four perfect frames. Martinez fanned five in three innings and Smith picked up his eighth save. <b>Tyler Hill</b> and <b>Jerry Downs</b> each had two hits and <b>Carlos Tovar</b> and <b>Tucker Tubbs</b> notched RBI singles. <span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_hvrasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;did=milb&amp;sid=t558" target="_blank">Hudson Valley Renegades (TB) 11, Lowell Spinners 10</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1">The Spinners put up a couple four-run innings but were unable to get the win. <b>Michael Osinski</b> went 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBI at the top of the order. <b>Samuel Miranda</b> was also 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. <b>Yorvin Pantoja</b> took the loss, allowing seven runs on 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings. <b>Mitchell Osnowitz</b> struck out six without a walk, but surrendered three earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><br /></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_twirok_rsxrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Twins 9, GCL Red Sox 8</a></b></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1">The GCL Sox lost a slugfest as <b>Blake Swihart</b> made a rehab appearance. Swihart hit third as the DH and went 1 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. <b>Cole Brannen</b> and <b>Pedro Castellanos</b> each grabbed two hits, with Castellanos roping a double and Brannen scoring twice. <b>David Durden</b> also went 3 for 3 with two RBI. <b>Alejandro Rodriguez</b> took the loss after giving up six runs in three innings. <b>Marcos Lantigua</b> pitched well with three scoreless frames.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_04_drsrok_dmlrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Marlins 6, DSL Red Sox 2</a></b><span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1">The Sox dropped this one despite a nice start from <b>Isaac Pinales</b>, who went six innings and allowed just two runs with no walks and four strikeouts. <b>Geraldo Perez</b> took the loss by allowing four runs in two innings. <b>Keibert Petit</b> had a nice day by going 2 for 5 with an RBI and two stolen bases. <b>Reinaldo Ugueto</b> had a hit and an RBI as well.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><b>Player of the Night</b>: After owning a 1.56 ERA in 11 appearances with the Lowell Spinners,&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/martinez-joan.htm" target="_blank">Joan Martinez</a></b> jumped up to Greenville and continued his domination during his first outing with the Drive. The 19-year old right-hander from the Dominican Republic tossed three perfect innings in relief with five strikeouts to help preserve a 3-2 lead. Martinez was signed as an international free agent in January of 2016.<span class="m_-9072650973969492873Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p2" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"></span><br /></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><i>Photo Credit: Josh Ockimey by Kelly O'Connor</i></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="m_-9072650973969492873p1"><span class="m_-9072650973969492873s1"><i></i></span><b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike></div></div></div><div class="ii gt adP adO" id=":le"><div class="a3s aXjCH m15db0a6b6db9f0a4" id=":ld"><div dir="auto"><div></div></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/rs6wcaS1-xs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Nick Rabascohttps://plus.google.com/117180698157626174422noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-ockimey-homers-haley.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-16144245056082540722017-08-04T07:30:00.000-04:002017-08-04T07:30:21.856-04:00Scouting Scratch: Tanner Houck<div class="p1"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/houck-tanner.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="480" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Lowell-Spinners/Lowell-Spinners-July-17-2017/i-7t4bVDZ/0/d7b11136/L/20170717_4676-L.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">LOWELL, Mass. – In June, the Red Sox selected right-handed pitcher </span><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/houck-tanner.htm" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><b>Tanner Houck</b></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> out of the University of Missouri in the first round of the draft. Houck made his final collegiate start on May 23, but although he signed on June 21, his first professional start didn’t come until July 17 (a typical wait for a top pick, likely spent building strength on the organization’s shoulder program). Houck has now made four starts for the Short-Season A Lowell Spinners, going 7.1 innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks, striking out nine and posting a 3.68 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I saw Houck’s first three starts—his fourth start, of course, which was on the road, happened to be his best start. In this start, he went 3 innings, struck out four and allowed just one baserunner, that on a dropped third strike. Although Houck hasn’t yet had to turn a lineup over or worked deep into a game, these initial looks have provided a solid basis of what to look for with Houck going forward.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a>Houck has a tall, athletic, pitcher’s frame, listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds. He has some projection left and should add strength as he matures. Houck has a unique delivery with a fair amount of effort, but it seems to work for him and his arm is very quick. He starts all the way to the first base side of the rubber and has a long arm action with an elbow climb in the back and a high leg kick. He comes across his body, releasing the ball from a low three-quarters arm slot and lands on the third base side of the mound before falling back towards the first base side. The delivery is extremely tough on right-handed hitters and is not something you often see from a starting pitcher.</div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ucy8SwMVtNE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ucy8SwMVtNE?feature=player_embedded" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Houck’s fastball velocity was much higher in his first outing as compared to his later starts, perhaps partially due to adrenaline in making his pro debut and overthrowing some, but also by conscious choice. In the first game, Houck sat 94-97 mph but struggled to control the fastball and the pitch lacked movement. In the next two games, Houck’s fastball sat 91-93 mph with heavy sink down in the zone. Houck <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/red-sox-first-rounder-tanner-houck-on-killing-worms/" target="_blank">told David Laurila at Fangraphs</a> that he gets more movement on the fastball when it’s in the low-90s, while it flattens out in the upper-90s. This was noticeable in the latter two starts, as hitters really struggled to elevate the ball and square it up. Houck hasn’t had to work deep into games yet, so it is to be seen if he can hold velocity deep into games, but it is encouraging that he is thinking about his craft and aware of what works best for him rather than just focusing on the radar gun.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">To compliment his fastball, Houck utilizes a slider and changeup. His 82-86 mph slider was his primary secondary pitch in the outings scouted, flashing above-average potential. The pitch showed long, sweepy, 10-to-4 break and flashed some depth and bite. Other times it was loopy and more vertical. He showed confidence in the pitch, using it against both right- and left-handed hitters in any count. Given his arm slot, the pitch is going to be extremely difficult on right-handed hitters, running down and away from their barrels.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div></div><div class="p2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Houck also showed a changeup, though he didn’t use it much. It was inconsistent and lagged behind his other two pitches. He throws it 87-89 mph, so the pitch lacked separation from his fastball. On occasion it showed some fade, but other times it looked more like a fastball he took something off and on the firm side.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Houck’s long-term projection is still up in the air, something that Red Sox Vice President of Amateur Scouting Mike Rikard essentially admitted on draft night, but the Red Sox intend to have him work as a starter for now. We will not learn much on that question this season given the limited pitch counts he is on, as he will not have to turn a lineup over or work deep into games. He also hasn’t had to feature his slider and or changeup consistently. Regardless, Houck has the tools you like to see in a pitcher. He has a solid frame and the early makings of a three-pitch mix. He has to work on his secondary offerings and refine his fastball command, but it is a unique, intriguing skill set that makes him one of the top right-handed arms in the system.</span></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="p1"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo credit: Tanner Houck by Kelly O'Connor</i></div></div><div class="p1"><div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Ian Cundall</b><span style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp;is&nbsp;Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">@IanCundall</a></span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">.</span></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: times; margin: 0px;"></div></div></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/nFULjQoe96E" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Ian Cundallhttps://plus.google.com/114862263727483328373noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/scouting-scratch-tanner-houck.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-28456213826851617462017-08-04T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-04T07:00:42.765-04:00Cup of Coffee: Chavis leads as Portland wins slugfest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/chavis-michael.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="563" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Portland-Sea-Dogs/Portland-Sea-Dogs-July-16-2017/i-jq2kzWh/0/4ce3abd0/M/20170715_0854-M.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>8/4 Cup of Coffee:</i> Thursday was a busy day down on the farm, with Portland's afternoon game providing most of the fireworks. Power duo <b>Michael Chavis</b> (<i>pictured</i>) and <b>Jeremy Barfield</b> both went deep again in the Sea Dogs 11-run attack. <b>Daniel Gonzalez</b> dominated for Greenville, while fourth-round pick <b>Jake Thompson</b> made his pro debut during Lowell's doubleheader. And it wouldn't be a day on the 2017 schedule without at least one rain out: Salem drew the short straw this time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_syraaa_pawaaa_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 6, Pawtucket Red Sox 4</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A late comeback effort fell short after the Chiefs broke out to a 6-0 lead against <b>Shawn Haviland</b>. <b>Rusney Castillo</b> continues to swing a hot bat for the PawSox. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games by going 2 for 4 with a single and a double. <b>Sam Travis</b> drove in two runs on the day, and <b>Brian Bogusevic </b>delivered a solo home run. <b>Robby Scott</b> returned to Triple-A, pitching a scoreless ninth and walking a pair against one strikeout.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_ricaax_prtaax_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Portland Sea Dogs 11, Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) 10</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a wild afternoon at Hadlock, with the two teams combining for 21 runs, including 19 in the first five innings. Receiving the brunt of the Sea Dogs assault was old friend Nate Reed, who pitched for Portland (as well as Salem) back in 2014. It's unsurprising, given their recent play, that <b>Michael Chavis</b> and <b>Jeremy Barfield</b> both homered in the effort. Chavis went deep in the first, his 27th of the year between two levels, and added a double and a walk. Barfield blasted what proved to be the decisive blow with a solo shot in the eighth that broke a 10-10 deadlock. He now has 19 homers on the year despite not having even signed until late May. He's been especially dominant recently, with eight homers in his last 11 games.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Henry Urrutia</b> added a third-inning grand slam. After a tough start by <b>Teddy Stankiewicz</b>, the bullpen trio of <b>Josh Smith</b>, <b>Taylor Grover</b>, and <b>Bobby Poyner</b> surrendered just one run in 5 2/3.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Salem Red Sox at Myrtle Beach Pelicans (CHC), PPD rain</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rain would not cooperate with the opener of Salem's set in Myrtle Beach. They'll try again as part of <a href="https://www.milb.com/salem-red-sox/news/august-3-2017-sox-rained-out-at-pelicans/c-246284146/t-196097162" target="_blank">a doubleheader on Friday</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/gonzalez-daniel.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="360" src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Spring-Training/Red-Sox-ST-March-22-2016/i-N5p7dWK/0/032b8a8c/M/20160322_7D_3465-M.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_capafx_crdafx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Greenville Drive 6, Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Drive got a dominant performance from <b>Daniel Gonzalez</b>&nbsp;(<i>pictured, right</i>) to come away with the win on Friday. The righty went seven shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out six while walking only one. At the plate, <b>Brett Netzer</b> was 2 for 4 with a run scored, making him 3 for 8 in two games since his promotion from Lowell. <b>Roldani Baldwin</b> clubbed his organization and South Atlantic League-leading 29th double, his 12th in his last 24 games.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_hvrasx_lowasx_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Hudson Valley Renegades (TB) 6, Lowell Spinners 4&nbsp;(Game 1)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After his pro debut was put on hold due to Wednesday's rain out, fourth-round pick <b>Jake Thompson</b> took the mound to start yesterday's doubleheader. The right-hander allowed a pair of runs on three hits in his lone inning of work. SoxProspects.com Director of Scouting Ian Cundall was on location, and <a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall/status/893221447170174982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.soxprospects.com%2Fthread%2F4118%2Fgameday-thread-thompson-debut-today" target="_blank">he noted</a> that all three hits came on soft contact, and that Thompson reached 96 with his fastball and showed some command of both the change and slider. Most impressive, per Cundall, was a <a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall/status/893226709096558592" target="_blank">four-pitch strikeout of third overall pick Brendan McKay</a>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_hvrasx_lowasx_2&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">Lowell Spinners 2, Hudson Valley Renegades 1 (Game 2)</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Spinners earned the split in the nightcap, with a solid outing coming from starter <b>Nick Duron</b>. The 21-year-old righty allowed just one unearned run in five innings of work, walking one and striking out a pair. His fastball sat 92 to 94 and touched 95, and he showed feel for the change, <a href="https://twitter.com/IanCundall/status/893274380490375168" target="_blank">according to Cundall</a>. <b>Devon Fisher</b> pitched two scoreless frames out of the bullpen to get credit for the win. <b>Alexander Martinez</b> entered the contest 0 for 12 since his promotion from the Gulf Coast League, but he turned things around on Thursday night. He led the offense, going 2 for 2 with a double, triple, a walk, and a run scored.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_rsxrok_orirok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">GCL Orioles 3, GCL Red Sox 2</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a tough walk-off loss for the GCL Sox, who had come back to tie the contest with a pair of runs in the eighth. <b>Rio Gomez</b>, Boston's 36th-round pick out of Arizona, made his first start after appearing seven times out of the bullpen. He struck out five while surrendering just two hits in four shutout innings of work. Gomez has allowed just two earned runs in 21 innings as a pro (0.86 ERA), and he sports a 0.76 WHIP. Two of the Sox five hits came off the bat of <b>Everlouis Lozada</b>, who has multi-hit games in four of his last six starts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_03_dbrrok_drsrok_1&amp;t=g_box&amp;sid=milb" target="_blank">DSL Braves 4, DSL Red Sox 3</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sox were victims of the new extra-inning rules in their 10th-inning loss. Starter <b>Yasel Santana</b> went four shutout innings, striking out four without issuing a walk and allowing just two hits. The offense managed only five hits, with a double by <b>Rafael Rincones</b> the only one of the extra-base variety. It was the 10th double of the year for Rincones, who also walked twice.&nbsp;<b>Willis Figueroa</b> also had a pair of walks, as he maintains a .520 on-base percentage.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-----</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Player of the Day:</b> <b><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/gonzalez-daniel.htm" target="_blank">Daniel Gonzalez</a></b> has been a jack-of-all-trades on the mound between Greenville and Salem. He earned his 10th win of the season across the two levels on Thursday with his best outing of the year. The 21-year-old out of Venezuela started all four games when he's been with Salem, but he has largely worked out of the Greenville bullpen--yesterday was just his fifth start against 14 relief appearances. Between the two stops, Gonzalez has struck out 83 batters while walking only 26, on his was to an impressive 2.92 ERA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Photo Credit: Michael Chavis, Daniel Gonzalez by Kelly O'Connor</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/16OrXLxbC7Y" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>James Dunnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422452981892252778noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/cup-of-coffee-chavis-leads-as-portland.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13579837.post-10404656973443130372017-08-03T14:00:00.000-04:002017-08-03T14:00:14.727-04:00Minor Notes: Recapping the trade deadline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soxprospects.com/players/houck-tanner.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qHodYP36qzA/WYNMpt9X2fI/AAAAAAAABA0/PCEKolS2mn8t-lMzpzciLR9-dsMRPJWPACLcBGAs/s200/houck.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are Thursday's minor league notes:</div><br /><ul><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;">Dont forget, SoxProspects.com still needs your help in achieving its annual fundraising goal. <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/2017-annual-donation-drive-we-need-your.html" target="_blank">Please help to keep the site free by donating</a>!</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;">In the <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/podcast-ep-127-stranger-things-hatfield.html" target="_blank">latest edition of the SoxProspects.com podcast</a>, Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall broke down the trade deadline action, <b>Rafael Devers</b>' promotion to Boston and more.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;">Ian also got a firsthand look at Boston's 2017 first-round draft pick <b>Tanner Houck</b>. <a href="http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/soxprospects-featured-video-tanner-houck.html" target="_blank">Check out the video he took</a> in his first two professional starts in Lowell.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;">Bill Koch of the <i>Providence Journal</i>&nbsp;spoke with Pawtucket manager <b>Kevin Boles</b> about the departure of <b>Jamie Callahan </b>as part of the package of players for reliever <b>Addison Reed</b>.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;">Scott Lauber of ESPN penned a column on <a href="http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/53072/how-20-year-old-rafael-devers-became-bostons-biggest-deadline-addition" target="_blank">Devers' path to the majors</a> and his early success with the big league club.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;">Old friend <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2017/08/01/playing-days-over-and-youkilis-is-doing-well/" target="_blank"><b>Kevin Youkilis</b>&nbsp;was in Portland</a> on Tuesday to throw out the first pitch at the Sea Dogs game. He spoke with Kevin Thomas of the <i>Portland Press Herald</i>&nbsp;about life after baseball and reflecting on his time with the Sea Dogs and the 10th anniversary of the 2007 World Series.</li></ul><i>Photo Credit: Tanner Houck by Kelly O'Connor</i><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SoxprospectsNews/~4/gpses_Q0uM4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Eric Gendronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15570644352309424168noreply@blogger.comhttp://news.soxprospects.com/2017/08/minor-notes-recapping-trade-deadline.html